Birmingham – 27 November 2018 – Unique IQ, an innovative software provider serving the health, social care and cleaning sectors, has secured a significant investment from leading venture capital firm Midven, which was recently appointed to manage the £35m equity portion of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF).
Unique IQ, which was founded in 2003 with an aim to address the pain points inherent with remote and mobile workforce management such as clocking in and out of visits, will use the investment to further expand their Worcestershire team. The company will also make use of the additional funding to advance its in-house development of their IQ:timecard and IQ:careplanner solutions, both of which are quickly gaining traction in the cleaning sector and the domiciliary care market.
In recognition for its cutting-edge technology, Unique IQ’s has recently been nominated as a finalist in several prestigious awards, including the ‘Innovation in Technology’ category of the industry-leading LaingBuisson 2018 Innovators and Leaders Awards; ‘Innovation in Medicine and Health’ in the West Midlands Tech Awards; and ‘Software Innovation of the Year’ for the Digital Entrepreneur award.
David Lynes, Managing Director of Unique IQ, said: “We’re delighted with the investment from Midven. This will provide us with opportunities to not only expand our team over the next three years but also focus on international growth, specifically targeting respected multi-national service providers to secure long-term contracts”.
Roger Wood, Director at Midven, said: “Unique IQ has grown significantly and consistently over the last three years. Faced with further growth opportunities, both in overseas markets and within its existing customer base through an imminent new product launch, the further investment in the company will enable it to build out their team and progress their technology development whilst maintaining its existing high levels of customer service”.
Ken Cooper, Managing Director at the British Business Bank, said: “The Midlands Engine Investment Fund was launched to help firms reach that next level of growth. This investment in Unique IQ demonstrates how important access to this type of finance can be, supporting product development and job creation.”
Sean Farnell, a board director at the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “This investment is exciting news for a go-ahead company that is driving forward at a rapid rate in a sector which is increasingly competitive. Our region is renowned for its innovation and Unique IQ is helping to strengthen that even further.”
Through the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), Midven continues to accelerate its investment into the Midland’s most ambitious entrepreneurs. Midven’s Unique IQ investment follows recent investments into Warwickshire–based electronic design and development provider, Assembled Electronics Solutions Limited (AES), and into Black Country-based carbon fibre composite manufacturer, CFP Composites.
The MEIF project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.