Mtivity Ltd, a leading provider of marketing management software to companies and media agencies, has raised £1.5 million and announced the appointment of Patrick Kremer as their new chief executive to lead plans for significant growth in the UK and overseas. The funding round was led by Albany Ventures, the specialist earlier stage technology investor, and included follow on investment from The Capital Fund, a £50 million venture capital fund which backs fast-growing, small and medium-sized enterprises in Greater London. The Fund's contribution follows a previous investment of £500,000 in Mtivity. Mtivity was advised throughout the fundraising process by corporate financiers, GP Bullhound.
Founded in 2000 by Matthew Atkinson, a serial entrepreneur, Mtivity has rapidly established itself as a leading player in the emerging field of Marketing Resource Management. The company's innovative on-demand software provides simple, cost-effective ways for marketing departments and their agency and print suppliers to collaborate on campaigns and improve brand control. Mtivity's clients range from well-known corporates such as Xerox, Egg, EDF, Sony Ericsson and David Lloyd Leisure, to agencies including Iris and Meteorite, and public sector bodies such as Westminster County Council. [see attached case studies].
Mtivity's new chief executive, Patrick Kremer, formerly the company's non-executive chairman, is a US national with over 20 years operational experience at IBM, Sybase and in three early stage Silicon Valley technology companies. Patrick recently completed a Masters degree at London Business School as a Sloan Fellow and was subsequently a Venture Partner at DN Capital. He takes over from founding CEO, Mat Atkinson, who takes charge of marketing and business development.
Patrick Kremer said:
"We are delighted to have secured this important capital injection from Albany Ventures and The Capital Fund. The new funding will enable us to advance our growth plans and fulfil Mat Atkinson's vision, allowing us to build Mtivity into a substantial international company. Our innovative software is designed to boost the effectiveness of the marketing supply chain and is uniquely delivered via the internet as a hosted, on-demand service that can be implemented quickly and at low cost to companies of all sizes."
Mtivity delivers its marketing management software as a web-based, on-demand service. Marketing professionals can streamline processes and automate time-consuming tasks such as the creation of new campaigns and delivery of one-to-one marketing communications. For example, one multinational client manages their collateral distribution and fulfilment to 24 countries in eight different languages through one employee using Mtivity's software, a process that used to require the input of eight staff.
The Company's product suite includes Mtivity Project, a powerful, collaborative workflow application that provides an online environment for teams to organise projects, share files, create briefs and manage costs. The Mtivity Marketing StoreFront module provides a new way to reduce the cost of managing marketing assets and improve brand control. It is based on unique marketing catalogues containing everything from customisable brand templates to digital assets, stock items such as pens and mugs, and printed materials.
Albany Ventures Director, John Morrison, who has joined the Board of Mtivity, said:
"Mtivity has demonstrated that it has the potential to successfully address the global niche of marketing management software, which looks set to expand dramatically as marketing professionals adopt collaboration, campaign management and budgeting tools like Mtivity's that go beyond traditional ad hoc processes based on email, spreadsheets and word documents. Their unique online product suite gives marketing teams and agencies a complete view of marketing workflow, digital assets and financial status."
Patrick Kremer praised Albany Ventures and The Capital Fund:
"Albany Ventures and The Capital Fund have provided the vital risk capital we need to grow our business at an earlier stage than conventional venture capitalists. Both teams were extremely professional and easy to work with, and we are particularly grateful to Stuart Nicol for his proactive support during the investment process."
The Capital Fund's Investment Manager, Stuart Nicol, said:
"As well as offering innovative products that are breaking new ground in marketing management, Mtivity benefits from an experienced management team and dedicated staff. This combination of factors, together with the Company's impressive list of blue-chip customers, who have provided very positive feedback on the products, attracted the Fund to make a substantial re-investment in Mtivity. We wish Patrick, Mat and the rest of the team every success with the Company's future growth plans."
Patrick Kremer, Chief Executive, and Matthew Atkinson, founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Mtivity, a leading provider of marketing management software, are congratulated by John Morrison, Director of Albany Ventures, and Caroline Hattan of The Capital Fund, after securing £1.5 million to fund the company's significant growth plans.