Online accounting software company FreeAgent has closed an investment round of more than £2 million that will fund an increase in headcount and the acceleration of product development.
Online accounting software company FreeAgent has closed an investment round of more than £2 million that will fund an increase in headcount and the acceleration of product development.
Early stage technology investor SM Trust, which worked with investment banking firm Torch Partners on the deal, led the round that also attracted support from the business’s existing investors.
It is the fourth external investment for FreeAgent since freelancers Ed Molyneux, Olly Headey and Roan Lavery founded the Edinburgh-based company in 2007. The total amount raised for the business now totals more than £3 million.
Molyneux, chief executive of FreeAgent, comments, ‘We’re really pleased that the success of FreeAgent to date has enabled us to attract such a significant investment, and excited about the new opportunities this opens up to us to accelerate our growth even more. ‘
FreeAgent is an online bookkeeping and accounting system targeted at freelancers and small businesses owners that currently has more than 12,000 users. It enables people to maintain their finances by enabling them to send invoices, track time and expenses, analyse bank statements and build real-time accounts through the software.
As part of the deal, Fred Coorevits from SM Trust will join the board of FreeAgent as a non-executive director. FreeAgent plans to use the investment to expand its engineering team, accelerate product development and grow its customer support team. The company also plans to invest in further business development, partnership and marketing initiatives.
Molyneux adds, ‘In many ways we’re only just getting started, and there’s so much more we want to do in terms of new features that really help to take the pain out of accounting for our customers. This investment will enable us to accelerate our development by bringing on board more world-class engineers and designers.
He continues, ‘FreeAgent has come a long way since it was founded in 2007. This latest investment means we can move forward with our ambitious plans but we’ll also be working really hard to ensure we don’t sacrifice the quality of service or dilute the amazing culture of the company.’
