Published: Jan 13, 2021
Focus:
North East Development Capital Fund
In less than a year the business has secured £1.4m of investment. The latest round of fundraising includes investment from Aero Commerce founder Richard Bendelow, the North East Development Capital Fund supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Maven and from The Future Fund, a government scheme backed by the British Business Bank.
With more than 20 years’ experience in retail, ecommerce and software development, Richard and his fellow director, and founder, Matt Burton, have quickly established Aero Commerce as one of the fastest growing ecommerce platform providers in the UK.
Having already handled nearly £100m worth of online retail transactions through its platform, Aero, in its first 12 months, the business is predicted to achieve over a quarter of a billion pounds worth of ecommerce activity in 2021.
This latest investment will support increasing Aero Commerce’s market presence as it expands its network of 60 UK partner agencies, which integrate the Aero platform into ecommerce sites they build for retailers.
The company anticipates doubling its workforce in the next 12 months to provide more support to its network of partner agencies, as well as financial transaction providers, such as PayPal and Klarna.
“Ecommerce is fundamental to the future of retail and has been brought into sharp focus by the events of the past 12 months. As a result, we are experiencing strong demand for our ecommerce platform and a growing pipeline of partner agencies looking to build Aero into online retail operations for national and international brands.
“Our combined experience of the booming ecommerce market, both prior to establishing Aero Commerce and during this truly unprecedented period, has built a reputation for the business across the web developer and retail sectors. This has enabled us to expand our partner network of agencies on a national basis, which we will develop further as a result of our latest investment.”
Richard Bendelow, CEO and founder of Aero Commerce
“We are delighted to continue our support for Richard and the team at Aero by leading the latest funding round which will enable the business to execute a number of exciting growth plans. Existing online retailers are looking for more effective and secure ecommerce solutions while the number of businesses establishing sales platforms is growing exponentially, which is creating significant opportunities for Aero’s innovative technology.”
David Nixon, Investment Manager from Maven’s North East office
Maven originally invested in Aero back in 2019 to fuel its sales and marketing activities and open an office in Newcastle.
North East business looking for funding to grow? Speak to Maven’s local team about your current and future needs, and our experienced investment professionals will be able to guide you on your funding requirements. Contact our team today on 0191 731 8590.
