Bridges Fund Management (“Bridges”), the specialist sustainable and impact investor, is delighted to announce a new partnership with Matrix Telematics (“Matrix”), a fleet telematics and software provider that helps to improve driver safety, prevent accidents and reduce emissions. The investment values the business at over £60m.

This is the first transaction that Bridges has completed in the North since it established a permanent presence in the region in December 2020.

Bridges is backing the existing management team led by CEO Mark Packman, who founded Matrix in 2001 alongside Wayne Shillito. The Altrincham-based business uses data captured from in-vehicle telematics devices to create intuitive, highly detailed reports of vehicle and driver performance, enabling fleet managers to identify both safety risks and opportunities to reduce fuel and ‘wear and tear’ costs. Its pioneering DRiiVE solution also offers ‘occupational road risk management’: real-time driver monitoring and proactive tailored interventions that help to improve driver behaviour.

In 2019, road traffic accidents accounted for 1,750 deaths and 125,000 serious injuries in the UK, and around a third of these incidents involved people driving for work. Most occupational drivers receive no specialist training throughout their career. By improving driver safety performance, the solutions offered by Matrix can help to reduce speeding, collisions, accidents and deaths, which in turn reduces fleet insurance premiums. And by reducing fuel usage, they also drive lower fuel emissions across the fleet. This creates a compelling proposition for fleet managers, which is why the UK market for services like these is forecast to grow strongly, hitting £1bn p.a. by 2025.

Mark Packman, CEO at Matrix, said: “We’re delighted to partner with Bridges. We were looking for an investor who not only shared our vision and ambition for the company’s growth, but also really understood our mission to improve driver safety and reduce accidents on our roads. Their experience of scaling companies like ours – plus their impact expertise in powering better outcomes – will be highly beneficial as we enter the next phase of our growth.”

Bridges, which is investing through its Sustainable Growth Funds, is backing Matrix in line with two of its four key impact themes: Healthier Lives and Sustainable Planet. The investment was led by partner Simon Braham, who recently joined the firm to establish a new base in Manchester dedicated to investments in the North. Daniel Knight, Kyle Bentwood and Laura Noorani also worked with Simon on the deal.

Simon Braham, Partner at Bridges, said: “Matrix’s industry-leading telematics and software can play an important role in reducing traffic accidents and making our roads safer, while also supporting the push to reduce carbon emissions from transport. We’re excited to partner with Mark and his excellent team: with its highly scalable SaaS model, leading-edge technology and strong customer relationships, Matrix is very well placed to lead the growth of this market in the coming years. It’s also a perfect example of the kind of exciting mission-driven businesses we’re looking to partner with in the North-West – and the North of England more broadly – in the coming years.”

Finance Link, a car finance specialist, has secured £50,000 from social impact lender, GC Business Finance, through the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) funded by Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).

Based in Trafford Park, Finance Link simplifies car financing by searching its large network of lenders to find the best finance agreement for every customer. Offering a great customer experience regardless of credit history, it gets clients in their new vehicles swiftly with an affordable monthly payment at a competitive rate.

Jake Bulger founded Finance Link in February 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic hindered its growth and forced Jake to take on other work while running the business part-time. After securing a £50,000 BBLS loan from GC Business Finance, Jake invested in a digital marketing campaign to increase awareness of Finance Link and secure new leads. As a result of the campaign’s success, Jake has been able to take the business full-time and focus on its growth as lockdown restrictions ease.

GC Business Finance is an alternative finance provider for businesses unable to obtain finance through their regular bank. It offers loans ranging from £500 to £500,000, including CBILS, start-up loans, equity investment, export finance and micro finance. In November, it became the first local authority-backed delivery partner to offer BBLS loans when GMCA pledged £10m emergency funding to support businesses in the region.

Jake Bulger, Founder at Finance Link, said: “The BBLS loan from GC Business Finance has been a godsend. As a new business, it really took the pressure off and enabled us to focus on our growth plan. Since launching our digital marketing campaign, Finance Link has gone from strength to strength, and we are looking forward to further growth as employees return to the office in the near future.”

Andy Nichols, Senior Loan Manager at GC Business Finance, said: “The last 18 months have been really tough for businesses, so we’re proud to have helped Finance Link to get off the ground and achieve impressive growth with a five-figure BBLS loan. Jake deserves a lot of credit for navigating the business through the challenging circumstances presented by COVID-19, and we are excited to see where Finance Link goes next.”

North West finance firm Seneca Partners is celebrating a significant milestone after investing £100m in growth capital since it launched in 2010.

The Haydock-based company specialises in supporting ambitious SMEs grow and has invested in more than 50 businesses in the last decade.

Earlier this month the company achieved a 4.2x return in its investment in Lancashire digital and communications business Mission Labs after it was acquired by Gamma Communications, in a deal worth a potential £46m.
John Davies, investment director at Seneca Partners, said investing £100m was a ‘hugely significant milestone’ but predicted the ‘best was yet to come’.

He said: “We have invested in everything from consumer businesses such as eCommerce platforms and coffee shop franchise operators, traditional manufacturing businesses, highly innovative technology businesses and we also remain active biotech and healthtech investors.

“More recently, with the UK and particularly the North West, emerging as something of a digital powerhouse, deal flow in technology driven businesses has been accelerated.”

Companies that Seneca have invested in include AIM-quoted biotech businesses OptiBiotix and SkinBioTherapeutics and car data platform Wejo.

Davies added: “Mission Labs has been a great story for us. We enjoy working with regional businesses and Mission Labs has been a roaring success, not only for our investors but for the local tech sector as a whole.

“We have also had success in the eCommerce space, with a 5x exit from our investment into Yorkshire-based Gear4Music, and we continue to be big supporters of women’s fashion platform SilkFred, who we are excited about heading into 2021.”

Seneca employs over 40 people and has made a total of 22 exits with an average multiple of 1.75x and returned in excess of £32m to investors. They currently manage a portfolio of 30+ businesses on behalf of their investors.
Matt Currie, investment manager and growth investor at Seneca Partners, said: “Cheque sizes vary from around £500k to circa £3m. We try not to stick to any hard and fast rules here as we prefer the flexibility to structure deals that work for both us as investors, but also the businesses and management teams.

“They may not want or need to take £2m or £3m of funding on day one, so we can split the funding into two or three tranches if that works better. We often support our existing portfolio businesses by reinvesting in the future investment rounds as the business continues to progress.”

Currie described Seneca as ‘sector agnostic’ but said Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and VCTs (Venture Capital Trusts) investors have traditionally been attracted to biotech deals.

“We prefer to invest at the point where the product or offering has been proven,” said Currie. “Some refer to this as ‘scale up’ or ‘Series A’ funding round, but essentially we like to see that a management team are capable of building a product, attracting customers and proving the model before we put our capital at risk.

“Naturally that may mean that we invest at a slightly higher value than earlier stage investors, so it’s all about getting that risk-reward dynamic right.”

Currie said there were no shortage of investment opportunities because of Covid.

“There are plenty of opportunities out there, arguably more so than in previous years,” he said. “The rate of change over the previous year has created significant opportunities and there are no shortage of entrepreneurs looking to tap into those.

“The challenging bit is forming a view on what businesses may look like in a post-Covid world. All have been impacted by Covid in some way, so the last 12 months and the recent trajectory these businesses have been on may not be a great indicator of the next 12 months.”