Carbon Digital wins North West Fund backing

A WARRINGTON visual effects company has received backing from the North West Fund for Digital & Creative.

The £15m fund, part of the larger European Union-backed North West Fund, has taken a minority stake.

The scale of the investment was not disclosed by the fund’s manager, AXM Venture Capital, but it can invest anything from £50,000 to £1.5m.

Carbon Digital, founded by Paul and Sue McHugh, works on adverts and films carrying out services such as live action shooting, compositing and post-production.

Clients include blue chips such as Unilever and advertising agencies DKLW Lowe and BBH.

Mr McHugh, managing director, said: “The investment will enable us to accelerate our delivery, starting with a number of interesting bigger projects, secured through our ability in high-end visual effects. We are an extremely forward-thinking and driven group.

“We always champion the newest technologies and techniques to gain an edge on our competitors and to collaborate with the best agencies. We are genuinely excited to foster world class talent in this field in the North West.”

AXM investment manager Joanne Evans said: “We are delighted to be able to invest in a highly-skilled and very talented team that already has blue chip clients in one of the fastest-growing sectors of the creative economy.”

The McHughs started their careers in the computer games industry as animators and lead artists, working for companies such as Rage, Sony and Acclaim.