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4th April 2019

£2.0 million backing from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund for tech firm leading fight against cyber bots.

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Northern Powerhouse Investment FundGreater Manchester LEPNPIF - Mercia Equity Finance

Intechnica – the Manchester-based technology business – has closed a £2.85million funding round led by investment group Mercia.

The lead investment of  £2.0million came from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia Fund Managers and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund. An additional £750,000 was invested by Mercia Technologies PLC  and £100,000  by existing private investors as part of the Funding round.

The funding will help the company to grow its cyber security division, Netacea, in the UK, North America and other international markets, and expand Intechnica’s consultancy services.

Founded in 2006 by Jeremy Gidlow and Andy Still, Intechnica now employs around 80 staff in its two business divisions. Intechnica offers services including digital transformation, technical due diligence for investors or corporate finance advisers, and a new Data Science as a Service (DSaaS) offering, while Netacea  protects companies from automated bot threats, such as account takeover, using machine learning to prioritise genuine human traffic. Clients include major retailers such as Hobbs, Ted Baker, Ao.com, Cath Kidston and Nisa. Mercia first invested in Intechnica in 2014.

Will Clark of Mercia Fund Managers said:  “Following previous funding rounds from Mercia, Intechnica is now well-positioned for growth. This latest round will support further development of its consultancy work and the launch of its new DSaaS line of business, offering market-leading expertise in this emerging field.”

Alistair Forbes of Mercia Technologies added: “As cyber attacks become automated, companies face a growing threat from robotic traffic attacking their websites, taking over their customers’ accounts and stealing data for fraudulent use. Netacea represents the next generation of protection, using state-of-the-art artificial intelligence techniques to combat these increasingly prevalent and rapidly evolving threats. We believe that Netacea and the team behind it will deliver outstanding success for the business.”

Jeremey Gidlow, CEO of Intechnica said:  “Having the financial support and expertise of our investors will help us execute our vision even more rapidly and broadly, and with the benefit of their experience and perspective of high growth technology businesses. We are hugely excited about the journey ahead as we gain momentum and focus on our plans for growth.”

Grant Peggie, Director at  British Business Bank, said: “We are pleased that NPIF has continued to support high-growth businesses in the North, providing vital funding to enable job creation and expansion into new markets. This investment demonstrates how this funding can make a real and measurable difference to businesses across the Northern Powerhouse region, which helps create a more prosperous regional economy.”

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

Enterprise Ventures Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 183363).  EV Business Loans Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 443560).

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