Pearson will commit £250,000 immediately to the news website, which went live in February after being founded by Adam Baker last year. The remaining amount will be committed in the next six months depending on the business meeting set targets.

Capturing the increasing popularity of ‘citizen journalism’, Blottr invites users to write news reports, submit photographs and comment on developments. There is an offer of payment for contributors, but the amount is dependent on how much web traffic each article achieves. The business hopes to increase headcount and launch in five UK cities, outside of London, during the first half of the year.

Baker comments, ‘Not only have we managed to secure significant funding to enable us to aggressively grow Blottr and broaden the locations we’re currently in, but we are able to welcome a hugely passionate, successful entrepreneur in Mark to our team and board.’

Pearson writes on his blog that the investment is not the first he has made by himself. He has previously taken stakes in NoisyDuck, a social gaming company, and mobile vouchers and coupons business, Vouchacha.

He comments, ‘Blottr is the most exciting news start-up I have seen and I feel it has a perfect fit with the portfolio of companies that I have invested in. I am hugely excited about the long term potential of Blottr and also impressed by the rapid growth and traction that the company has already gained in such a short period of time’.

The investment comes a month after Pearson’s company, Markco Media, which owns the websites MyVoucherCodes.co.uk in the UK and CouponCodes4U.com in the US, began an international expansion programme. The company plans to hire online marketing managers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Italy, India and the Netherlands.