Nottingham tech firm lands six-figure funding deal

A Nottingham technology company, which counts Asda, Waitrose and Walmart as clients, has secured a six-figure investment to further develop its software.

Solutions for Retail Brands (S4RB), based on Queensbridge Road, received the cash from the N2 Business Growth Programme, which is delivered in partnership by The University of Nottingham and East Midlands Business Ltd and is part-funded by the Government’s Regional Growth Fund and the European Regional Development Fund.

S4RB creates and manages solutions for retailers to improve relationships with their own label suppliers and customers. The funding will be used to drive forward its Unified Brand Experience (UBX) Cloud Services software, which enables retailers to work as one team with their suppliers and develop their products.

The N2 Business Growth Fund programme is delivered, in part, by The University of Nottingham. It will also undertake a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with The University of Derby to drive the UBX Cloud Services forward.

S4RB’s managing director James Butcher said: “Nottingham has a thriving technology community, thanks to the high number of tech firms and outstanding education facilities. It is always rewarding to receive local recognition, and the team is really excited about taking our product forward. We are also pleased to have this opportunity to work with The University of Nottingham and The University of Derby, two fantastic local institutes.

“Supermarkets are responsible for thousands of own label products, so it can be a real challenge for the teams to manage these in the time they have. This project is about making the process more automated so they can identify issues with the products much earlier on. Instead of waiting for a customer to make a complaint, they can see exactly what is happening and take appropriate action.”

S4RB launched UBX Cloud Services at Oracle OpenWorld in San Francisco in 2014, after receiving initial funding from N’Tech Nottingham Technology Fund and Creative England.

At the end of last year, private equity investment manager Foresight Group provided an additional seven-figure sum to enable S4RB to further develop the software and grow its presence in the North American market.

Liz Lesquereux, head of business and local partnerships at The University of Nottingham, said: “The N2 Business Growth Fund has been established to encourage and facilitate innovation and growth within local companies. We are delighted to support S4RB in the development of their new software, which is leading to the creation of new jobs in Nottingham.”