Though Quorum first approached the investment network with a view to raising cash from its members in July, it has taken until now for negotiations to be concluded. Nonetheless, SWAIN’s network director Philip Tellwright insists ‘this represents an exciting growth opportunity for our investors.’

The transaction, which represents the largest deal Tellwright and his team have brokered to date, was eventually facilitated by a ‘small syndicate’ of the group’s investor members and should, according to Quorum chairman Bill Sharpe, help to revolutionise his company’s prospects.

‘The deal provides all the financial resources necessary to allow us to grow at a rate which will keep pace with the growth we anticipate in our marketplace,’ Sharpe explained. ‘We would never have been able to support such an expansion plan with traditional bank borrowing,’ he continued, adding that he hoped to receive ‘excellent added value through the experience and network contracts of our investors’.

Quorum, whose technology enables multiple users to collaborate on shared documents at the same time, already counts the likes of Airbus, British Telecom and Wellcome Trust among its clients.