Published: Dec 21, 2016
Focus:
Growth Capital
The Greater Manchester Loan Fund has provided a £200,000 finance package to Beyond Comparison Group Limited (BCL).
BCL, a Salford-based business, which develops white-label comparison software, will utilise the funding to further diversify its current offering, both for existing and prospective customers, and to develop new comparison engines for the Pet, Travel and Car Insurance markets - three of the largest areas for comparison engines.
Since forming in 2012, BCL has forged a niche in the overall comparison sector, creating a white label proposition which allows businesses to utilise their client list further through cross selling a wider range of products. BCL’s comparison engines are bespoke to the individual customer and its solutions are currently being deployed by clients within the utilities (gas, electricity), telecommunications (telephone, broadband, television, mobile), insurance (home, contents, life), and financial (mortgages, secured loans) sectors. Its flexible software allows easy integration with existing CRM and CMS systems, enabling the complete automation of data.
The GMLF funding package will support the growth of the operations in the Salford site and secure existing jobs, with the intention to nearly double headcount over the next two years.
Alex Rothwell, Investment Manager at Maven, said: “Beyond Comparison is a fast growing, innovative company which is set to continue to develop and diversify its offering as it expands into different sectors of the marketplace. The investment in Beyond Comparison will safeguard jobs in Greater Manchester whilst establishing the potential to create additional positions in the next two years. GMLF is delighted to support this exciting business and continues to look to provide funding into other SME companies in the Greater Manchester area looking to grow.”
Lee Plaister, Managing Director at Beyond Comparison, added: “Maven was really supportive of our ideas and growth strategy and the funding process was relatively quick and very straightforward. The additional funds will enable us to further our investment in technology/software development and increase headcount in sales support and we are delighted to be working with the investment team at Maven in the coming months and years.”
