AG Elevate Programme’s New Uptake

AG Elevate programme, a unique fast-track legal mentoring scheme for early-stage businesses, has a new uptake of eleven high-growth UK technology companies.

The programme, designed and delivered by the leading lawyers at Addleshaw Goddard, assigns successful candidates with a legal mentor and dedicated support over a ten-month period. In addition, the 2021 cohort will receive access to professional industry networks, bespoke collateral designed by Addleshaw Goddard and a collaborative online hub, as well as the opportunity to work alongside like-minded business professionals in the tech ecosystem to help elevate and grow their firms.

The ever-growing popularity of the programme was proven this year, with more than three times the number of applications previously received. The eleven organisations selected span across the UK, from Aberdeen to London. Lawyers from across all six of Addleshaw Goddard’s UK offices will now mentor and work with the dynamic firms which include:

London-based firms Rosecut Technologies, Lumio Technologies, Flomark and Yayzy
Scotland-based BlackArrow Financial Solutions
Trojan Energy, headquartered in Aberdeen
Manchester-based Voly and Assif
Yorkshire-based Crysp
WhereIsMyTransport and JUST: Access, both based in Leeds and London

David Anderson, a Corporate and Commercial Partner at Addleshaw Goddard, who specialises in technology said:

“The pandemic has accelerated digital innovation and the integration of technology in all aspects of our lives. We must recognise the vast array of opportunities and expertise tech companies across the UK bring towards the growth and rebuilding of our economy.

“Addleshaw Goddard is the only law firm to offer a dedicated programme of this calibre, and we’re incredibly excited to welcome our 2021 AG Elevate cohort on board. Every company selected champions innovation and pragmatic solutions in the technology sector in which they operate.

“Alongside colleagues across the UK and beyond, we’ll use our expertise in the sector to work closely with the chosen firms to help them navigate their way through the legal challenges frequently faced by fast-growing earlier-stage firms in a bid to propel them into the next chapter.”

Over its five year lifespan, the programme has supported more than 30 fintech and technology, entrepreneurs in accelerating innovation as well as helping establish an international presence. Although originally designed for fintech firms, this year marked the first year that the programme welcomed all high-growth tech businesses, placing a greater focus on businesses interested in sustainability.

For more information about the AG Elevate programme, visit: https://www.addleshawgoddard.com/en/ag-elevate/programmes/apply/2021-ag-elevate-cohort/

FCA complaints handling. Compliance and reporting by Workpro

Based in Edinburgh, the Workpro team is delighted to join the FinTech Scotland community. We specialise in software for FCA-compliant complaints handling and reporting.

Improved customer service and management insights are just as important to our customers. Resolving complaints well is important for customer retention and reputation, so good practice is good for business. Of course, the way complaints are handled is also subject to external scrutiny.

Workpro FS (Workpro Complaints for Financial Services) was a natural evolution from our origins serving ombudsman and regulators. Complaints in both sectors involve more than just expressions of dissatisfaction. They bring to light issues which can have serious implications for all parties. Robust processes must be followed, and lessons learned from outcomes. Root cause and trend analysis feed into continuous improvement initiatives.

Workpro’s client base extends from the UK to the US, Canada, Bermuda, Cayman Islands and beyond. Workpro’s HR case management configuration is also being adopted by financial institutions for employee relations casework.

While many big names are attracted to Workpro, our clients include small to medium sized firms, or niche departments within bigger-name organisations. Workpro clients appreciate all the accreditations, security, and resilience our system provides, without the big company overhead.

We would love to talk to you more about our products for the financial services community. Please contact us on info@casltd.com or visit our website: workpro.com

Encompass Secures Investment

The leading RegTech provider of Know Your Customer (KYC) automation software, Encompass Corporation, has secured investment from Beacon Equity Partners, a private equity group focused on companies that solve regulatory and compliance challenges. Beacon joins the existing investors in a broader capital round to fuel Encompass’ growth in 2020.

In addition, Beacon Equity Partner, Joe Bradley, will also join Encompass’ Advisory Council to further this important relationship. Bradley joins existing members Stephen Allen, former CRO of Macquarie Group; Kevin Gould, founder of IHS Markit, and Raymond W. Scott, CEO of Axolotl Corp.

Encompass has had a strong 12 months – the company has not only achieved significant revenue growth but has added a number of top global banks and law firms to its client list. A client list that already included the likes of Santander and the Nordic KYC Utility, Invidem, as well as key partners such as Accuity.

This follows the RegTech provider hiring 70 new staff members across all existing locations, but with a particular focus on expanding the organisation’s footprint in Singap[ore, the US, Serbia and Sweden. Key hires have included Alan Samuels as Head of Product; Chris Hodgens as EVP, Engineering; Robert Jessurun as Head of Banking Sales, and Tim Gentry as Head of Engineering Operations.

Wayne Johnson, CEO and co-founder, Encompass Corporation, said about the new investment announcement:

Beacon Equity Partners is the perfect match for Encompass, with this investment enabling us to continue our rapid growth journey whilst investing across our business to meet demand. The expertise Joe and Beacon bring in growing global companies is of great benefit, particularly as we work towards formally entering the North American market in 2021 ”“ a significant milestone for Encompass.

Joe Bradley, Partner at Beacon Equity, added:

Encompass is at the exciting stage where we like to invest in businesses ”“ they have a clear leadership position in a growing niche in the KYC space. The number of global banks adopting the platform reflects the momentum we have seen and is a telling sign of the growth potential of this company.

AutoRek takes on the Big Apple

AutoRek, a leading Fintech software provider to global financial service firms, is the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce’s selection for representing Scottish business in its virtual trade mission to the state of New York.

On the 23 and 24 March, the two-day event aims to attract Scottish companies from the Fintech sector that show interest in international exporting and expanding. 16 company-strong delegations that will participate in a market awareness session, and two business-to-business meetings based on specific requirements, with support from the Chamber’s local market partner.

Establishing international partnerships in the main aim of this trade mission, with the opportunity to explore joint ventures, distribution deals and other mutually beneficial practices.

Having been selected by the UK Government’s Department of International Trade to showcase the Best of British Innovation, AutoRek has continued to build overseas relationships. Just last week, AutoRek announced Scottish Equity Partners had completed a significant growth equity investment in its business, which will facilitate accelerating its US expansion plans.

Introducing edventure – Venture Builder and Accelerator

Introducing edventure, the first pan-European university venture builder and accelerator, bringing together universities’ best talents across Europe to solve society’s most important challenges. Edventure was founded in September 2020 by Zara Zaman, Ragnor Comerford and Fynn Comerford, students in their final years at the University of Edinburgh. The idea for edventure arose from observations they made about the student startup ecosystem in Europe, particularly in comparison to the US. Highly ambitious and talented students did not have the right idea or problem to work on, had difficulties finding co-founders and accessing resources, and were faced with the myth of the college drop-out successful entrepreneur. There was a need for a process to kick start their venture and guide them through the startup building process within a diverse community of likeminded individuals balancing their startup with their studies (and benefiting from the synergies between them!).

To tackle this, edventure takes a mix of existing startup teams and talented individuals to be matched with problems they are passionate about, and incubates them in a 10-week programme, with each week covering a key theme for startups. Throughout the programme, edventure provides its startups with resources, mentorship, tools, workshops, and access to its ever-growing European network.

What started as a student organisation grew from 3 founders to a team of over 40 people (over 50% female), helping 200+ students to build startups from universities across Europe. The startups in edventure’s cohorts so far are tackling issues ranging from climate change and waste reduction to inequality in accessing legal aid, to personal finance. One of edventure’s core principles is strength in diversity; their cohorts have hosted young entrepreneurs from over 60 different degree programmes, 45 nationalities, speaking over 40 languages and dialects.

https://edventure.vc/

Know-it ”“ Striving for success! Brand New Credit Management Platform

Glasgow based fintech company, Know-it are almost ready to launch their brand-new credit management platform set to transform businesses credit control processes!

Being developed for over 2 years, Founder and CEO Lynne Darcey Quigley, has brought her 25 years credit management experience into the platform. Simplifying the full credit control process and bringing it all together in the one login!

With the fast-paced technology world, Know-it are ahead of the game. Their platform connects with some of the leading accountancy apps including Xero, Sage, QuickBooks and FreeAgent, making it a seamless journey for the customer, allowing them to Check-it (credit check and monitor customers), Chase-it (automated email/letter/SMS payment reminders) and Collect-it (commercial debt recovery support)

The Know-it platform will ensure people have a robust credit management process regardless the size or industry. We want to help businesses save money on subscriptions on multiple platforms and credit referencing services. We also believe that the SME should have the same access to these tools as large PLC’s do. Balancing the playing field!

They have seen some recent success with company Founder and CEO, Lynne Darcey Quigley progressing to the final of the AccelerateHER competition in the FinTech, Data Science & Cyber Security and being shortlisted semifinalists for the Scottish EDGE.

The AccelerateHER Awards are a celebration of female founders and their potential to grow their companies and scale internationally. Lynne has made it through to the final taking place on 25^th March, which will involve her pitching live to a panel of judges. Good luck Lynne!

Get to know Lynne a little more by reading her interview with We Are Tech Women

Know-it are currently at beta testing stage with their test group, there is still time to get involved and see the platform before launch! Please get in touch with kevin@know-it.co.uk for more information regarding being a beta tester. All testers will be given an exclusive 6-month free subscription worth over £500.

Find out more about Know-it by visiting their website ”“ www.know-it.co.uk

SEP Invests in Glasgow Based SaaS Platform AutoRek

Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) has made a significant growth equity investment in AutoRek, a leading Glasgow-based provider of Financial control, regulatory reporting and data management software. Over the past three years, Autorek’s cloud-based software as a service (SaaS) has experienced significant growth and investment from SEP, enabling them to extend further into the international market as well as accelerating additional product development.

About AutoRek

AutoRek is an industry-leading software provider to companies in the global financial services sector.

An industry leader at the forefront of financial data management, AutoRek’s customisable rules-driven platform allows firms to automate and streamline the collection, validation and reconciliation of data. This facilitates the necessary transparency for good governance and fulfilling regulatory obligations. Efficiency and cost reduction are delivered by eliminating spreadsheets and manual processing, as well as mitigating operational and regulatory risk associated with managing high volumes of data.

SEP Expansion

Increased regulation of financial institutions and growing demand for AutoRek’s financial control and regulatory reporting solutions have both been a result of the drive for greater integrity, transparency and accountability within the financial services sector. AutoRek’s software automates high-volume reconciliation, exception management and data analysis workflows, delivering operational efficiency and improved governance of financial and regulatory risk. Partnering with SEP will support the company to further enhance its proposition to address a $2 billion-plus per annum global regulatory and data management software market.

Andrew Davidson and Angus Conroy led the deal, with both joining the AutoRek Board. Angus said:

“AutoRek is a fast-growing and capital-efficient SaaS company, delivering business-critical functionality to financial institutions across the asset management, banking and insurance sectors. The company has an excellent reputation in the financial and regulatory data management market and a strong focus on product innovation. We are pleased to be working with the management team to help them achieve their growth ambitions.”

Gordon McHarg, co-founder and CEO of AutoRek said:

“We are delighted to have SEP on board as an investment partner to continue the successful evolution of the AutoRek business. SEP has extensive experience in the software sector and we are looking forward to working with them to build on our recent growth and to capitalise on the substantial opportunity within the global financial services market.”

www.autorek.com

Clearwater Analytics Operations Expansion

Edinburgh-based fintech Clearwater Analytics is significantly expanding its Operations team as part of the company’s recently-announced strategy to grow its business in Europe.

Clearwater’s Operations hub in Edinburgh has grown to more than 100 people in the last several years and has recently opened over 15 new roles. Clearwater is specifically looking to hire chartered accountants, subject matter experts (in areas such as insurance), and data specialists, along with recent university graduates, to join them in the next phase of growth.

Mark Gillespie, Head of European Operations at Clearwater, says: “There has never been a more exciting time to join Clearwater. Especially out of our Edinburgh center, we are doing larger and more complex client implementations and supporting a growing number of large multinational organizations. We are also continuing to drive innovation in our SaaS platform, incorporating the latest technology and analytics tools and adding product features for our clients.”

With over $5.5 trillion in client assets on the platform, Clearwater replaces multiple data management, accounting, and reporting solutions with one solution that delivers 100% reconciled data and daily reporting for investment professionals across 50 countries. Stat, GAAP, tax, risk, and regulatory reporting are all generated from this one source using customizable reporting and powerful analytics. More information about Clearwater is available on its website and career page.

Global partnership for fintech Paysend and Mastercard

Scottish fintech Paysend just announced a strategic partnership with Mastercard.

The partnership will increase Paysend’s global reach and bring better outcomes for both businesses’ customers.

2021 is shaping to be a very successful year for Paysend after announcing they had reached 3 million customers in January as well as having experienced hypergrowth from the beginning of the COVID19 pandemic, since their technology enable customers to manage their money in a safe, secure, fast and low-cost way.

Thanks to this partnership will boost the new Paysend Global Account, combining its Global Transfer together with account/product services. It will also offer a platform for strategic expansion in order to increase the capacity for inter-regional transactions.

Ronald Millar, Co-Founder & CEO of Paysend said

“Our partnership with Mastercard will bring even more freedom to Paysend customers who want to hold, spend and send their money on a global scale. We will be working with Mastercard on collaborations programmes to bring the benefits of our multi-currency service to more people around the world, so they can spend freely and flexibly on their travels”.

Jason Lane, Executive Vice President Market Development Europe at Mastercard added:

“We are thrilled to be able to partner with Paysend. This partnership is an important milestone in delivering choice of payments, in particular in a cross-border environment, and allowing people to pay how they want, anywhere, anytime.”

3 new clients for Scottish Fintech Exizent

Exizent is developing rapidly following the announcement that Countrywide Tax and Trust Corporation, Thursfields Solicitors and Thorntons are all digitising their probate with Exizent’s new platform.

After raising £3.6 million last year, the company continues on its mission to transform the way the legal and financial services industry deals with bereavement.

Nick Cousins, founder, and CEO of Exizent says

“We know from our own research that most law firms are frustrated with the amount of time it takes to process probate cases and wish the process could be more efficient, and in an era of digitised services, with more transparent and open access to information, there is no reason it shouldn’t be. Our platform brings together all the information and data needed to apply for probate in one place, making it quicker and easier for professionals to manage and less stressful for those who have lost a loved one.”

Ian Bond, Head of Wills & Estates at Thursfields, says:

“Due to the numerous parties implicated and the time required to manually gather all relevant information, probate can be very emotional and stressful for those involved. Exizent is the first piece of technology to connect data, services and the network of people involved when someone passes away, and therefore has the ability to completely transform the way professional services manage and executors experience probate.”

Murray Etherington, Head of Private Client at Thorntons, says:

“It’s vitally important for those dealing with estate administration that they do everything in their power to alleviate as much distress as possible for both families and executors. Every client requirement needs to be dealt with individually, but having an effective and efficient process in place helps enormously and this is where Exizent has the power to be a real game-changer.”

Clive Ponder founder and Director at Countrywide Tax and Trust Corporation, says:

“The loss of a loved one can be made all the more stressful by having to tend to complex and time-consuming documentation and admin work. This has never been clearer than in 2020, a year marked by extraordinary grief. Using the Exizent platform will enable our Specialist Probate Team to better support the bereaved, by eliminating uncertainty and ensuring a seamless and integrated experience for all involved.”