£1M Investment Boosts Expansion into Voice Messaging

30th November 2006

A £1m investment has allowed an established Liverpool creative and technology communications company to tap in to the fast growing market of Interactive Voice Messaging (IVM) Solutions.

Paver Downes, now Paver Downes Origin, received £440,000 from Merseyside Special Investment Fund’s £40m Venture Fund and £110,000 from MSIF’s Liverpool Seed Fund. The remainder of the funding came from directors’ own investment and Cattle’s Invoice Finance.

The funding is being used to allow the company to grow its customer base in debt recovery, automated survey and emergency notification IVM applications and allow it to invest in further product development.

Key markets will be sport and leisure, debt management and crisis management, as well as many other sectors.

Clients already include Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC, as well as The Lowell Group and Bristol Water.

Director Steve Downes said: “The addition of the IVM communication offering to our existing marketing communications services is a good fit. We expect the Interactive Voice Messaging market to be an area of significant growth, capitalising on the key advantages of communication using the power of the voice and the electronic ability to distribute thousands of simultaneous personalised messages economically. It can be used in a wide variety of ways – for example keeping people up to date on football matches, or it can be used as a more cost effective way of debt collection and emergency notifications.”

MSIF Venture Fund investment director Matt Allen said: “The growth in the IVM market in the UK is expected to follow that seen in the United States. Paver Downes Origin is well placed to take advantage of this. The company is already a market leader with an impressive client list and strong flow of opportunities in the pipeline.”

The investment is expected to have a significant impact on both company turnover and staffing levels at Liverpool-based Paver Downes Origin.

Corporate Finance advice was provided by Langtons. DLA and Halliwells provided legal advice to management and MSIF respectively.

Ends

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Picture shows (L-R) Matt Allen (MSIF Venture Fund) and Steve Downes (Paver Downes Origin)

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