MediaCity-based GovToday has secured £700,000 in equity and debt funding in an investment round led by The North West Fund for Digital & Creative.
GovToday is a five year-old events-led B2B marketing communications business. The Company has established a strong brand in the UK government and not-for-profit sector, organising high level conferences with 12 month strategic partnerships for both public sector and sponsors alike – to allow the public sector to communicate policy, whilst generating revenues from commercial sponsors. The Company’s digital publishing arm is being developed into a valuable source of revenue in its own right.
The Company was founded by Tony Farrar, Rob Hollis, and Richard Taylor who each have extensive experience in the conference and business-to-business publishing sectors. The Fund’s investment will support the extension of the conference programme into new policy areas and subjects, refining GovToday’s digital presence, and growing the sales resource.
The Company has offices in MediaCity and employs 48 staff.
The investment was supported by Ronan Kearney through his Osprey Capital vehicle. Mr Kearney, who is a successful entrepreneur and founder of a financial services group, followed on his earlier investment in GovToday, and has taken an active role in developing new conference ideas. Further support was provided by loan finance from NatWest Bank.
Richard Taylor, Co-Founder and Digital Director, GovToday, said: “This current wave of investment, and AXM’s experience in the digital and creative industries, combined with our current board of David Wade-Smith as Govtoday’s Chairman, Erica Ingham as Finance Director and Ronan Kearney’s expertise in the financial markets, offers us a fantastic opportunity to expand our digital platform and events portfolio both in the UK and also into new markets and countries. This investment will boost key appointments across our digital, sales and editorial staff.”
David Smith, Investment Director, AXM Venture Capital, which manages The North West Fund for Digital & Creative, said: “We are delighted to have led a substantial round for GovToday. The team has enormous energy and dynamism, and we are confident that they will become the leader in this sector, serving a very clear need within the public sector.”
The North West Fund for Digital & Creative is part of The North West Fund which is financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the European Investment Bank.