A BIRMINGHAM-based software company has accelerated its growth plan after securing the finance it needed through the Government-backed Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme (EFG).
ProTech Computer Systems supplies Customer Relationship Management Software (CRM).
The company, which is based in Great Barr, was formed in 1995 by managing director Mark Trouth and operates within the not-for-profit and education sectors.
Its clients include the Institute of Charted Accountant in England and Wales, The Royal British Legion and the Liberal Democrats’.
To build on its success, the company had been looking to expand its market share in the CRM sector using the Pro-8 system. It approached NatWest Business and Commercial Banking to discuss a financial package and the bank directed it to the EFG .
The EFG scheme aims to ensure that smaller businesses have the necessary working capital or investment finance in place to help them through the difficult economic climate. Under the scheme the government will guarantee 75% of any loans made.
With the NatWest supported financial package in place, ProTech has been able to expand and successfully compete against national and international companies for large CRM contracts. This expansion will lead to the company’s workforce increasing from 28 to around 36 people.
As a result of the EFG security, ProTech has been able to forge a partnership with the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) to enhance its membership communications and customer service.
Mark Trouth, managing director of ProTech, said: “We are delighted with how our current expansion plans, supported by NatWest and the EFG, have gone and to have been chosen to supply our latest generation of the Pro-8 suite of applications to the CMI.
“We have worked closely with CMI’s team to produce a detailed solution that will bring significant business improvements to their organisation. We see this as a clear indication of the real power and sophistication of this latest version of the Pro suite; Pro-8”.
Ruth Spellman, chief executive of CMI, said: “We wanted to find a solution that, in one go, provides appropriate levels of information and enables CMI to improve customer service levels. In ProTech we have a found a partner that truly puts the needs of the customer first.”
Matthew Hart, Senior Relationship manager for NatWest in Birmingham, said: “ProTech are a long standing customer of the bank, and it is great to see the way they are growing and gaining new business.”
To date NatWest and RBS have led the field in taking applications for the EFG scheme, with more than £417m of loans agreed or in the pipeline.
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