MSIF Invests £800k Into Liverpool Educational Software Company

4th September 2007

Merseyside Special Investment Fund has invested £800k to support the further expansion of a Liverpool software company.

Taecanet, based at Liverpool Digital, specialises in technology that delivers curriculum based online learning services to schools.

The funding includes £540k from MSIF’s £40m Venture Fund and £260k from The Liverpool Seed Fund which continues to support the business following previous investments totaling £750k.

Taecanet was set up by technology experts Ian Nairn & John Davison and relocated from Wiltshire to Merseyside. Since its launch in 2005 around 500 schools across the UK have subscribed to the service including all schools covered by Knowsley MBC.

The company offers a subscription based e-learning service aimed at primary and secondary schools. For each national curriculum subject Taecanet uses expert practising teachers to create 'learning journeys' which are specifically designed to retain pupils' interest, concentration and ability to retain information. Managing Director David Hesketh said: "Recent research published shows that schools using Taecanet can improve their SAT results – which measure children’s ability - by up to 50%. We work very closely with teachers to develop the product and have recently added two new subjects to the range. We have also introduced “Virtual Classroom” which allows teachers and pupils who are geographically dispersed to participate in shared classroom activities. Next year we will launch “E-Assessment” which provides automated “levelling” and is aimed at further easing the burden on teachers.

“We now want to grow from 500 to 2000 schools and widen our global customer base. We already have two international schools in Prague and Beijing but there are also opportunities for licensing deals in India and China.”

Mark Borzomato, Investment Director of MSIF’s £40m Venture Fund said: “We are delighted to be supporting Taecanet. Its range of unique products have received excellent reviews from users and industry commentators and we are excited by the growth prospects both in the UK and global markets.”

Darren Gowling, Investment Director of The Liverpool Seed Fund said: “Taecanet is run by a strong and driven management team. We will continue to work closely with them and look forward to supporting them through the next phase in their development.”

Staff levels have grown from three in 2005 to over 20 and this figure is expected to double again over the next three years.

Legal advisors involved in the transaction were John Spofforth of O’Connors (MSIF) and Neil Kelly of PFK (Taecanet). Commercial due diligence was undertaken by Sparrowhawk and Heald and management due diligence by Mkonsult.

Ends

Back to Liverpool Seed Fund News and Deals

Back to Venture Fund News and Deals

Back to News and Deals

Photo Shows L-R David Hesketh (Taecanet) with Tim Scott and Mark Borzomato (MSIF)

Back to Liverpool Seed Fund News and Deals

Back to Venture Fund News and Deals

Back to News and Deals