Cheshire based Venn Digital has received a £500,000 funding boost to support investment in the growth of its team and the product development of an innovative digital platform for recruitment firms globally.
Venn Digital is a market leader in recruitment agency and employer brands. The business has undergone a significant transformation in recent years, shifting from a digital marketing agency to a tech and service business, specialising in recruitment marketing solutions.
The investment from NPIF – FW Capital Debt Finance, which is managed by FW Capital and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, is assisting Venn Digital to grow its team with the creation of 45 new roles over the next three years. This will support the firm’s growth strategy as it expands Vennture, its tech platform for global recruitment agencies.
Vennture is a platform created by Venn Digital that powers a suite of digital applications. It allows recruiters to edit their website and upload jobs within the Vennture dashboard and provides analysis of website performance and product sales. This is also supported by marketing services provided by Venn Digital. Its launch has been a huge success, creating a single sign-on solution for the careers industry. This has resulted in a significant increase in the volume of work for Venn Digital with the business doubling its revenue and its headcount in the last year from 20 to 40 people.
Brian Whigham, Chief Executive Officer at Venn Digital said: “We identified a gap in the market for a service to deliver a digital platform for global recruiters which also provides marketing support. The additional marketing services we provide is what makes Vennture unique. We’ve experienced huge volumes of interest since its launch. So much so that we needed working capital to help us grow our team in order to meet this demand. The business has doubled in size, and we’re forecast to double in size again in the coming year to achieve £4 million in revenue.
The support from Adam at FW Capital has been brilliant. He’s been very thorough and he has impressed me. After having a bad experience from a bank, it was refreshing to work with a team who really take the time to understand our business and support our ambitions. The journey we’re on is very exciting.”
Adam Husband, Senior Investment Executive at FW Capital facilitated the investment for Venn Digital following an introduction from Ben Day at Cowgills.
Adam Husband, Senior Investment Executive at FW Capital said: “ This is a great example of how NPIF can help growing businesses. Due to the success of Vennture, Brian and his team were having to turn down work as they didn’t have the staff to deliver the volume of work coming through. The investment will support Venn Digital’s rapid expansion and future development of the Vennture product in line with their vision and market demand.”
Debbie Sorby at British Business Bank, said: “The growth of Venn as a market leader in recruitment solutions is a testament to the forward thinking and innovative strategy it employs. It is great to see how with NPIF support, Venn can create jobs in the region, continually develop itself and achieve its goals.
“Supporting businesses in Cheshire brings us one step closer to fulfilling the wider levelling up ambitions of the region by attracting investment, creating new jobs, and boosting the local economy. I look forward to seeing the region continue to prosper with the support of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.”
NPIF – FW Capital Debt Finance is managed by FW Capital and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund. It can provide loans in the NPIF region with a focus on Cumbria, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside and the Tees Valley.
The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.
