London-based MoPowered is hoping to raise £4 million via a placing when it lists on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM).
The business, which provides mobile commerce services through its software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, will be using the funds raised to invest in sales staff, ramp up marketing and put more capital into its product offering.
Back in August, MoPowered raised £1.8 million to achieve a final close in a £2.5 million institutional and private investor-led round.
That capital went towards developing its service, aimed at providing a way for businesses to develop mobile sites – including a browsing, check-out and payment experience.
Dominic Keen, CEO of MoPowered, which was named in the GrowthBusiness UK Tech Innovators list of 25 of the most exciting technology companies in Britain, says, ‘The number of consumers shopping on the move has already seen exceptional growth which is expected to accelerate as more and more e-commerce goes through mobile channels.
‘We have grown from 60 contracted customers in June this year to over 100 currently. With increased resources to focus on marketing initiatives and sales, building our customer base even further in this exciting market is a core part of our growth offering.’
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Having already been part of an IPO team when Egg listed and was then subsequently sold to Citi Group, Keen is aiming the start-up firmly at the B2B market.
Speaking to GrowthBusiness in July as part of the Tech Innovators 2013 list, Keen said that London’s AIM would provide MoPowered’s customer base with more confidence in its offering.
Following two technology floats which had given him confidence, WANdisco and blur Group, Keen added, ‘It’s a more exciting place to be right now as much more money is coming back into AIM. There is a higher risk appetite for investors in tech, which hasn’t been there recently.’
According to a statement, the directors of MoPowered believe that the business has a ‘first mover advantage’ in the UK market for mid-tier and specialist merchants and that it will now be looking to capitalise on a ‘window of opportunity’.
Recent statistics from eMarketer suggest that the percentage of UK retail e-commerce that is conducted via mobile devices and tablets will increase to 15 per cent in 2013, from four per cent in 2011. Going forward the figure is predicted to hit 27 per cent by 2017.
