A Northumberland tech firm that provides internet connectivity to construction sites lacking the necessary infrastructure has secured a £500,000 investment from a venture capital firm.
Trench Networks, which has eight employees on its payroll, has secured the investment from the North East Venture Fund (NEVF), supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Mercia.
The investment marks the fourth by the NEVF.
Trench Networks has so far raised a total of £1m in investment funding.
Strong signals
Trench Networks was set up in 2015 by Kevin Latimer and his business partner Claire Hollyman, initially targeting the construction industry.
The firm’s communication service seeks to overhaul the way in which construction firms can access and use internet and phone communications on site, with its Outpost device aggregating connections from all major mobile networks and combining them to provide a reliable internet service.
Outpost is used on a number of high-profile construction projects, including the new £800m NOMA neighbourhood in Manchester and the Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre in Oxfordshire.
Trench Networks has also recently launched a ‘Wi-Fi SOS’ service for businesses suffering wi-fi outages or moving to sites which lack connectivity.
The latest funding will enable the company to take advantage of growing demand for its services and expand its team.
The business recently appointed Damien Murphy as the new chief operations officer, and expects to create a further five new jobs for sales, marketing, and technical staff over the next 12 months.
Commenting on this latest funding, Hollyman, the company’s co-founder and chief customer officer, said: “This is an exciting time for us. We already provide connectivity to some of the UK’s biggest construction firms, and the switch to remote working has created increased demand from businesses of all types.
“The backing from Mercia and the NEVF has enabled us to develop the company to this point.
“This latest funding will allow us to continue enhancing our Outpost product and support the next stage of our growth.”
Mercia Asset Management’s Jan Oosthuizen added: “Trench Networks has made great progress since our first investment two years ago.
“Its award-winning technology and rapid deployment times have enabled it to build a strong track record in the construction industry.
“As businesses of all types become increasingly dependent on internet connections, this latest funding will allow it to take advantage of opportunities in other sectors.”
Trench Networks has more than doubled its revenue in the past 12 months, despite COVID-19 disruption.
Image: Scott Lewis/Flickr
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