Mercia invests £1m in technology business

HENLEY-in-Arden investor Mercia Technologies has invested £1m in user-generated content platform Crowd Reactive.
 
London and New York-based Crowd Reactive’s platform allows event organisers to broadcast on large screens, live photographs, videos and social content from a variety of social media platforms, including Instagram, Twitter, Vine and Dropbox. 
 
The investment will be spread across two tranches of £500,000 each. It follows on from an early stage SEIS investment made by the group’s third party funds, managed by Mercia Fund Management, Mercia’s wholly owned subsidiary.
 
The technology firm It offers three products: Crowd Reactive, a platform for brands to incorporate social content into their adverts; EventsTag, a live social media feed for consumers, brands and businesses; and ii.do, a live social slideshow for wedding party pictures. 
 
Crowd Reactive was founded by CEO Dan Strang and has successfully built a global customer base which includes O2, Nike, Coca Cola, Chevrolet, Vogue, Audi, Ferrari, Starbucks, Southern Comfort and England Rugby.
 
Crowd Reactive recently expanded into the United States, which now accounts for over 65% of its total sales. It intends to expand its client base to Europe and Latin America and further develop its product, to give brands moderation controls, allow customers to display social content on their own websites and integrate into new forms of advertising.
 
Mark Payton, chief executive officer of Mercia Technologies, said: “Crowd Reactive is a new emerging star from our early stage portfolio. It’s a fast growing business that has shown great progress since MFM’s original investment, and has been remarkably successful in winning new business from globally recognised brands.”
 
Crowd Reactive’s Strang said: “The continued operational and financial support from Mercia is invaluable. It allows us to provide unique and innovative solutions for our international customers and scale the business globally across new sectors.”