The MEIF’s newest investment will support D-RisQ in the development of highly sophisticated technology which will improve prospects across a breadth of industries.
D-RisQ, a tech company, based in Malvern, Worcestershire has secured an investment of over £360,000 from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) Equity Finance Fund, managed by Birmingham venture capital firm Midven. The company which was founded in 2012, specialises in the development of automated software tools that improve safety for use in systems across a host of global industries, including those in aerospace, autonomous systems, automotive, security and more.
D-RisQ has a highly-experienced management team, led by Nick Tudor, Prof Colin O’Halloran and David Sheppard, who all have over 30 years experience in senior roles within the aerospace and defence sector. The team initially worked together at DERA (later QinetiQ), the UK Defence Research organisation where they developed CLawZ®, a semi-automatic verification tool, which was applied to software on the Eurofighter to assure its safe operation. The company was then set up to develop a series of automatic verification tools designed to gives improvements in development efficiency while complying with safety needs in many sectors that manufacture vital services and products.
The funds secured will support D-RisQ in its plans to accelerate growth and allow for more involvement in providing such software tools for an array of commercial businesses. With use of the investment, the company will undertake crucial research and further develop its range of high-tech mathematically based automated tools. D-RisQ is currently working on projects involving various aircraft, autonomous underwater vessels and cybersecurity programmes.
The use of funds will also allow it to improve its sales and marketing function, with the team currently in the process of developing a new website that best displays its products and services. The opportunity also provides a chance to expand on resource, which will see the team welcome a number of key hires to its Malvern-base over the next 18 months.
Nick Tudor, Chief Executive Officer at D-RisQ , says: This investment marks a significant step forward for D-RisQ enabling us to form a valuable partnership with Midven, and the MEIF. The additional finance will accelerate the Company’s growth and provide access to additional business expertise enabling the transition from a research and development company to a major supplier of automated software development tools. The technology we utilise is a ground breaking mathematical approach and the resulting products will be the culmination of many hundreds of man-years of development effort which are set to have a significant world-wide impact on the safety and behavioural assurance of software systems
Giovanni Finocchio, Midven’s Investment Director says: This is an exciting investment for MEIF, led by a team of experienced and talented individuals. D-RisQ has produced a suite of tools that enable software developers to design and produce software that performs predicted behaviour. The tools will give businesses the opportunity to save millions on costs from wasted resources and the testing of software that doesn’t perform as initially intended. Take for example autonomous vehicles, any flaws in software design and code can have disastrous consequences, so having tools that perform checks and balances is a must. I’m looking forward to working with D-RisQ, it has great potential.
MEDIA CONTACTS
D-RisQ Contacts:
Nick Tudor
CEO, D-RisQ
07412 074654
Midven:
Drew Craythorne
Digital Glue
0121 389 2784
drew@digitalglue.agency
About D-RisQ
D-RisQ is a company based in the Malvern Hills in the West of England. The team has a background in mathematics, engineering and computer science.
Since its establishment, the company has built an expert team of consultants, analysts and implementers to “change the way the world develops software” by bringing advanced automated software development tools to safety, security and business systems developers.
About Midven
For more than 25 years, leading Birmingham-based venture capital firm Midven has been supporting Midlands SMEs, investing more than £60m into the region and raising £200m co-investment into their portfolio. Midven’s ‘more than money’ approach helps to build strong and successful companies and support businesses every step of the way. Midven continues to extend its reach to invest in the Midland’s most ambitious entrepreneurs through its recent appointment to manage the £35 million equity portion of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), as well as the launch of the firm’s first Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) fund. For more information about Midven, please visit www.midven.co.uk.
About the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF)
- The Midlands Engine Investment Fund, supported by the European Regional Development Fund, will invest in Debt Finance, Small Business Loans, Proof-of-Concept and Equity Finance funds, ranging from £25,000 to £2m, specifically to help small and medium sized businesses secure the funding they need for growth and development.
- The Midlands Engine Investment Fund is operated by British Business Financial Services Limited, wholly owned by British Business Bank, the UK’s national economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to make finance markets for smaller businesses work more effectively, enabling those businesses to prosper, grow and build UK economic activity.
- The Midlands Engine Investment Fund is supported by the European Regional Development Fund, the European Investment Bank, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and British Business Finance Limited, a British Business Bank group company.
- The MEIF covers the following LEP areas: Black Country, Coventry & Warwickshire, Greater Birmingham & Solihull, Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, The Marches, and Worcestershire in the West Midlands; and Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham & Nottinghamshire (D2N2) Greater Lincolnshire, Leicester and Leicestershire, and South-East Midlands in the East and South-East Midlands.
- The project is receiving up to £78,550,000 of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The programme will continue to spend to the end of 2023.
- The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Fund. Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information visit gov.uk/european-growth-funding.
- The Government has guaranteed all funding allocated through EU programmes until the end of 2020. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/funding-from-eu-programmes-guaranteed-until-the-end-of-2020
- The European Investment Bank is providing £122,500,000 to support the Midlands Engine Investment Fund. This follows backing for the Northern Powerhouse in 2017 and backing for the newly launched North East Fund. For further information visit eib.org
- The funds in which Midlands Engine Investment Fund invests are open to businesses with material operations in or planning to open material operations in the West Midlands and East & South-East Midlands.
About the British Business Bank
The British Business Bank is the UK government’s economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to make finance markets for smaller businesses work more effectively, enabling those businesses to prosper, grow and build UK economic activity. Its remit is to design, deliver and efficiently manage UK-wide smaller business access to finance programmes for the UK government.
The British Business Bank programmes are supporting more than £7.2bn of finance to over 93,000 smaller businesses (as at end of September 2019).
As well as increasing both supply and diversity of finance for UK smaller businesses through its programmes, the Bank works to raise awareness of the finance options available to smaller businesses:
- The Business Finance Guide (published in partnership with the ICAEW and a further 21 business and finance organisations) impartially sets out the range of finance options available to businesses at all stages – from start-ups to SMEs and growing mid-sized companies. Businesses can take the interactive journey at thebusinessfinanceguide.co.uk/bbb.
- The new British Business Bank Finance Hub provides independent and impartial information to high-growth businesses about their finance options, featuring short films, expert guides, checklists and articles from finance providers to help make their application a success. The new site also features case studies and learnings from real businesses to guide businesses through the process of applying for growth finance.
As the holding company of the group operating under the trading name of British Business Bank, British Business Bank plc is wholly owned by HM Government and is not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The British Business Bank operates under its own brand name through a number of subsidiaries, none of which are authorised and regulated by the FCA.
British Business Bank plc and its principal operating subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. A complete legal structure chart for British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries can be found on the British Business Bank plc website.