A fast-growing Southport company which produces futuristic learning spaces for schools and training centres has secured £150,000 funding from The North West Fund for Venture Capital, managed by Enterprise Ventures, to help it expand.
Immersive Interactive was founded by technology experts David Salt and Chris Porter, who have been joined by four new staff members in the past three months. It is now exporting to Italy and the UAE and expects to double its turnover in the year ahead. This is the second round of investment by the fund, which also provided £100,000 when the company started trading three years ago.
Immersive Interactive’s products range from educational software programs to complete interactive learning environments which bring stories to life through the use of sound, smell and interactive visuals projected on to the walls.
These ‘immersive spaces’ have proved popular with the education sector, particularly special needs schools, and are now also being used in the medical field to simulate accident and emergency scenes and provide more realistic training for first aiders and paramedics.
The company, which is chaired by Matt Johnson, co-founder of Liverpool-based Mando Group, has clients throughout the UK and resellers in Spain, Italy, the Middle East, Hong Kong and Australia.
Will Clark of Enterprise Ventures said: “The market for educational technology is growing internationally. There is a demand for more immersive and engaging systems in schools, as the increasing use of tablets, touch screens and ebooks shows. Immersive Interactive has attracted international interest and is expanding rapidly. This funding will allow it to fulfil its current orders and explore opportunities in new markets such as the medical sector.”
Chris Porter said: “We are extremely grateful to Enterprise Ventures and The North West Fund. The initial investment enabled us to start up and develop our products, while this latest round provides additional support at a time of rapid growth.”
The company was advised by Robin Hastings of Bermans and Nathan Heathcliff-Core of Verus while the Fund was advised by Harriet Sutherland of Ward Hadaway.
The North West Fund for Venture Capital is part of the £155m North West Fund and is financed jointly by the European Regional Development Fund and the European Investment Bank.