Opportuni - which bills itself as ‘Tinder for Tenders’ - has acquired the Bidstats procurement website, which claims to have the largest and most comprehensive source of contract award data in the 海角视频.
The Teesside firm plans to to use the database to provide detailed analysis of contract award data, with Opportuni subscribers able to benefit from use of the database to allow for more effective bidding activity.
Opportuni wants to redirect more of the £225bn worth of Government spending to SMEs, while also introducing a culture of transparency and accountability that it says is not always evident in public procurement.
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CEO Tim Ward said: “The acquisition of Bidstats is a vital part of our mission to level the public procurement playing field and support even more great small and medium sized businesses to identify and win Government contracts.”
North East games developer SockMonkey Studios has doubled in size on the back of a £250,000 investment.
The Middlesbrough-based business has seen its staff numbers double in last year amid moves to grow its suite of original games.
The company secured £250,000 of investment from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund last June, which it used to launch a demo version of its first original game, Fish Tanks.
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An incontinence product supplier is planning a national advertising campaign after securing a six-figure investment from a North East jobs fund.
Durham-based Lylalife supplies a range of urinary incontinence products which are delivered directly to customers, with a monthly repeat order service available alongside one-off purchases.
The company, which was founded 18 months ago, has grown orders through Facebook adverts but is now planning a major radio and TV advertising campaign after securing a £100,000 Small Loan Fund investment from the North East Fund.
The company hopes to increase its customer base of 5,000 to around 50,000 over the next two years, with the aim of creating 20 jobs at its Durham and Newcastle offices.
Hexham-based Hansen Partnership has been acquired in an undisclosed deal by Navint, a New York headquartered advisory and technology services firm that helps companies drive growth and operational efficiency throughout the lead-to-revenue lifecycle.
Hansen Partnership was founded two and a half years ago by entrepreneur Steve Crosby and has since grown to 50 employees, alongside a training academy in India to help identify and train emerging talent in Asian markets.
The company helps organisations maximise returns on their investments in solutions on the cloud-based CRM software platform Salesforce, and works with a range of clients including Jacobs Douwe Egberts, Deutsche Bank and the World Economic Forum.
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Stephen Slater of RMT Accountants & Business Advisors has worked with the Hansen management team on its growth strategy since the inception of the business, while Michael Cantwell and RMT’s corporate finance team provided additional advice during the sale process.
Steve Crosby, managing director at the Hansen Partnership, said: “Our focus from the outset has been on the delivery of the services that our clients need to succeed, rather than on sales themselves, and we’ve grown quickly as a result.
A County Durham company that aims to ease the administrative burden left with bereaved families has set its sights on rapid expansion, on the back of investment.
Mother-and-daughter team Julie and Vicky Wilson, from Seaham, launched Settld in February 2020, after Vicky’s grandmother died.
After putting together a business plan and outlining their plans for the platform, they were accepted onto the North East SME Innovation Programme – managed by the North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) – and tapped into support from RTC North and the ERDF-backed Arrow Project at Newcastle University.
This support, as well as grants totalling over £185,000 from Innovate 海角视频, provided the pair with everything they needed to officially launch Settld.
The company has secured a total of more than £800,000 for its end-of-life admin platform, which automates bereavement notifications to more than 750 companies, from banks to social media players.
Settld has grown to a team of 10 and has recently closed a £500,000 seed funding round, led by SFC Capital, as it looks to go global with its platform.
North East security company Protector Group has launched a range of solar-powered CCTV camera towers, following a £1.25m investment boost.
The Team Valley business has also invested in a drone fleet and recruited 16 trained drone pilots, amid moves to support the transition to a green economy.
To support its diversification into technology-led security solutions, the company has opened up a new 20,000sqft engineering hub at the Derwenthaugh industrial estate in Blaydon.