The team of serial entrepreneurs behind Edesix has secured equity funding for their new business and will now look to move into new geographies.
Set up by Richie McBride and Robin Iddon in 2002, Edesix has raised £750,000 in a deal led by Panoramic Growth Equity.
Edesix designs and builds ‘secure hi-tech video recording equipment’ which is then used by law enforcement bodies such as Police Scotland, Cambridgeshire Police and G4S.
Co-founder and CEO McBride reveals that the deal represents the first time Edesix has taken on external investment, a decision which was made after looking at a range of different options.
‘We were seeking an experienced, professional investor who would work closely with us. We also share some common ground in that the Panoramic team are business owners themselves,’ McBride explains.
‘They have an established track record of helping smaller entrepreneurial businesses to build larger more profitable enterprises; we are already seeing the benefits that they bring via a strong network of contacts.’
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The £750,000 that has been raised is for expanding the sales and marketing capabilities of the business in what it describes as ‘key markets and geographies’ around the world. It also hopes to utilise the intellectual property developed to enhance the functionality of its products.
Prior to setting up Edesix, McBride and Iddon worked together at Spider Systems, bought by Shiva Corporation in 1995, before founding Axon Networks. The duo then sold that business to 3Com for $65 million in 1996.
David Wilson, partner at Panoramic Growth Equity, believes that Edesix is a ‘great’ example of a young, technologically advanced business.
‘The founding team spotted this opportunity and have been able to draw on many years of technology and engineering experience to build a business that is now a leader in its space,’ Wilson comments.
‘We in turn bring to the table experience of having worked with over thirty small businesses with revenues of £1 million to £10 million, often helping them internationalise.’
Panoramic Growth Equity has made the commitment in Edesix though its Enterprise Capital Fund I, which was closed in September 2010 at an oversubscribed amount of £34 million.
