IDenteq, a West Midlands-based company specialising in data solutions for the utilities industry, has secured a £700,000 follow-on investment from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF). The investment was made through the MEIF West Midlands Equity Fund I, managed by Future Planet Capital Regional, formerly known as Midven.
This significant follow-on funding will be used to fuel IDenteq’s next phase of growth, supporting the development of innovative new products and expansion into new markets. The company plans to launch a premium SaaS product for utility companies, focusing on credit risk assessment and enhancing their offering significantly for existing clients. The investment will also enable the creation of a specialist managed service for address cleansing and occupier validation, as well as a new prospect portal tool for various sectors.
In addition to product development, the investment will support strategic hires across the company, including roles in product development, sales, and marketing.
Since its founding in 2020 by industry veterans Ben Reed and Andrew McKinney, IDenteq has demonstrated strong growth by providing a cost-effective solution for utility companies to validate their customer data, helping to reduce revenue loss and combat fraud.
“This follow-on investment is a fantastic validation of our vision and the progress we’ve made to date. It will allow us to accelerate our product roadmap, delivering innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of the sector. We’re partnering with utilities to raise the bar for the entire data services industry, and we’re excited to welcome new talent to the team as we drive forward into our next phase of growth.”
Andrew McKinney, CEO at IDenteq
The decision to make a follow-on investment was based on IDenteq’s impressive growth and the management team’s deep sector expertise and proven ability to deliver effective, market-ready solutions.
“We’re delighted to continue supporting IDenteq as they enter their next phase of growth. The deeply experienced leadership team has an ability to rapidly develop and launch innovative solutions which makes them a standout in their sector. We look forward to providing continued support to help them scale the business.”
Tony Stott, Investment Director at Future Planet Capital Regional
The Midlands Engine 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.
About IDenteq Ltd
IDenteq Limited is a forward-thinking technology company revolutionising data services for the utilities industry. Founded in 2020 by industry veterans Ben Reed and Andrew McKinney, the company’s innovative SaaS platform provides a cost-effective solution for utility companies to validate their client data. With a mission to combat revenue loss and fraud, Identeq’s cutting-edge solution has garnered attention for its potential to reshape the utilities sector.
About Future Planet Capital:
Future Planet Capital is the impact-led, profit-first venture capital firm built to back founders, science and technology benchmarked against the world’s top centres of innovation. Founded in Britain, but with global outlook and reach, Future Planet invests globally, nationally and regionally and has an unparalleled network and data-driven capability to invest across all stages in companies targeting the global challenges of climate change, education, health, security & sustainable growth.
Founded in Britain with a global outlook and reach, FPC manages over $450m for public and private investors and has deployed a further $200m of co-investment. It manages the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund, a national seed investment fund backed by UK Research and Innovation, the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology and other public bodies. It is also a major regional investor, managing both the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) for the British Business Bank and the West Midlands Co-Investment Fund (WMCO) for the West Midlands Combined Authority and West Midlands Pension Fund.
For more than 25 years, leading Birmingham-based venture capital firm Future Planet Capital Regional, formerly known as Midven, has been supporting Midlands SMEs, investing more than £90m into the region and raising over £200m co-investment into its portfolio. The firm’s ‘more than money’ approach helps to build strong and successful companies and support businesses every step of the way.
About the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF)
The Midlands Engine Investment Fund I will invest in Debt Finance, Small Business Loans, Proof-of-Concept and Equity Finance funds, ranging from £25,000 to £2m, specifically to help small and medium sized businesses secure the funding they need for growth and development.
The Midlands Engine Investment Fund I is operated by British Business Financial Services Limited, wholly owned by British Business Bank, the UK’s national economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to make finance markets for smaller businesses work more effectively, enabling those businesses to prosper, grow and build UK economic activity.
The Midlands Engine Investment Fund I is supported by the European Regional Development Fund, the European Investment Bank, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and British Business Finance Limited, a British Business Bank group company.
The MEIFI covers the following LEP areas: Black Country, Coventry & Warwickshire, Greater Birmingham & Solihull, Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, The Marches, and Worcestershire in the West Midlands; and Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham & Nottinghamshire (D2N2) Greater Lincolnshire, Leicester & Leicestershire, and South-East Midlands in the East and South-East Midlands.
The project is receiving up to £78,550,000 of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The programme will continue to run until the end of 2023.
The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government is the Managing Authority for the European Regional Development Fund. Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations.
The European Investment Bank is providing £122,500,000 to support the Midlands Engine Investment Fund. This follows backing for the Northern Powerhouse in 2017 and backing for the newly launched North East Fund.
The funds in which Midlands Engine Investment Fund I invests are open to businesses with material operations in or planning to open material operations in the West Midlands and East & South-East Midlands.
The British Business Bank has published the Business Finance Guide (in partnership with the ICAEW, and a further 21 business and finance organisations). The guide, which impartially sets out the range finance options available to businesses and provides links to support available at a regional level, is available at https://thebusinessfinanceguide.co.uk
About the British Business Bank
The British Business Bank is the UK government’s economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to make finance markets for smaller businesses work more effectively, enabling those businesses to prosper, grow and build UK economic activity. Its remit is to design, deliver and efficiently manage UK-wide smaller business access to finance programmes for the UK government.
The British Business Bank’s core programmes support nearly £8bn of finance to almost 94,800 smaller businesses. Since March 2020, the British Business Bank has also launched four new Coronavirus business loan schemes, delivering almost £73bn of finance to around 1.6m businesses.
As well as increasing both supply and diversity of finance for UK smaller businesses through its programmes, the Bank works to raise awareness of the finance options available to smaller businesses. The British Business Bank Finance Hub provides independent and impartial information to businesses about their finance options, featuring short films, expert guides, checklists and articles from finance providers to help make their application a success.
In light of the coronavirus pandemic and EU Exit, the Finance Hub has expanded, and it now targets a wider business audience. It continues to provide information and support for scale-up, high growth and potential high growth businesses, but now provides increased content, information, and products for businesses in survival and recovery mindsets. The Finance Hub has been redesigned and repositioned to reflect this, during this period of economic uncertainty.
British Business Bank plc is a public limited company registered in England and Wales, registration number 08616013, registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ. It is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. They are not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
