A County Durham technology firm is looking to apply its new e-commerce
solution in markets around the world after securing a five-figure
investment from the North East Small Loan Fund Supported by The European
Regional Development Fund.
Digital Edge specialise in the Wix web platform and are world leaders
who provide a full range of digital marketing services, including web
design, marketing solutions and software solutions, and has a particular
specialism in utilising the Wix Velo web development platform.
Headquartered in Newton Aycliffe and with a satellite office in
Gloucestershire, the business has recently completed the development of
a point-of-sale solution for global sales solution specialist Epos Now
which allows it to be integrated within the Wix platform.
The management team has now worked with regional fund management firm
NEL Fund Managers to bring in the £50,000 investment, which will be used
to increase the company’s business development and marketing activity
around its new solution, as well as others that are currently in
development.
Digital Edge is also one of the first firms to work on the
newly-released Wix Blocks software solution and is helping to lead its
adoption by clients around the world.
Digital Edge was set up in 2021 after the merger of two successful
digital consultancies which offered complementary services and
expertise.
It now has an eight-strong team, which is expected to grow as the new
solution enters new markets, and is aiming to reach an annual turnover
of £500,000 this year.
Digital Edge was introduced to NEL Fund Managers by Allan Jeff,
innovation and growth specialist at RTC North.
Ian Proctor, sales director at Digital Edge, says: “Our Epos Now
integration and our early adoption of Wix Blocks allows for Digital Edge
to create an ever-increasing residual income by creating solutions on
the Wix platform for businesses across the world.
“We spent well over a year developing the Epos Now integration, with our
understanding of Wix enabling us to complete this work where bigger
competitors had failed, and it is now fully operational on the Epos Now
website.
“It’s suitable for any type and size of business that uses the Wix
platform and has opened the way for us to build more products and
services that are based around it.
“We’re seeing growing numbers of new business opportunities coming in
not just from North East England, but from right around the world,
including from Spain, France, the US, Canada, UAE, Singapore and
Australasia.
“After the introduction from RTC North, we had amazing support from the
NEL team to complete the investment process and we’ve now got the
resources in place to grow the business quickly.”
Jonathan Armitage, investment executive at NEL Fund Managers, adds: “The
expertise that Digital Edge has brought to bear on a significant market
opportunity is already bearing fruit and we’re excited at the potential
for growth that the business is now set to start realising.”
Part of the £130m North East Fund and aimed predominantly at smaller
SMEs, the £9m North East Small Loan Fund typically offers loans of up to
£100,000 to businesses in Tyne & Wear, Durham and Northumberland.
It is designed to assist with the creation of over 1,200 new regional
jobs in more than 320 SMEs over the life of the fund.
The overarching £120m North East Fund will provide financial support for
more than 600 businesses, creating around 2,500 jobs and delivering a
legacy of up to £80m for further investment into the region.
NEL Fund Managers is also responsible for managing the £18m North East
Growth Capital Fund, which offers unsecured investments of up to
£500,000 to established businesses looking to realise their growth
potential.
For more information about NEL’s investment criteria, visit
www.nel.co.uk or contact the investment team on 0345 369 7007.
