International digital marketing firm, Webcertain Group, has received £500,000 in funding from Bibby Financial Services to expand its business and reach out to new markets.
Webcertain Group, is an international digital marketing business that provides SEO, online advertising, content marketing, social media and translation solutions to businesses to help them reach new markets quickly and cost-effectively.
Established in 1997 and headquartered in York, the business has grown rapidly over the last two decades, opening an office in Barcelona and developing regional teams in a number of European markets as well as North America. Across its network, Webcertain provides digital marketing solutions to brands that undertake international campaigns. With an ability to deliver services in over 44 languages, the business specialises in translating and delivering localised marketing campaigns and works primarily for large global corporations.
The business grew its revenue by 15% in 2017 to £10m and its primary focus this year is consolidating this growth and broadening its geographic reach with the return on that investment coming in 2019. In the past, the business has relied on self-funding, but as the business continues to expand and grow in international markets, it needed a more flexible growth-enabled funding solution.
Working with Bibby Financial Services, the business was able to agree a new £0.5M funding line giving it greater capacity for expansion taking account of the longer lead times and payment terms which are characteristic of this sector of the economy.
Philip Hopkinson, Finance Director, explains, "Our competition is global agencies who provide a global service but not the speed or cost-effectiveness of Webcertain - but what the global agencies do have is deep pockets. Bibby Financial Services is helping us to level out the playing field and gives us more scope to expand and grow competitively. As this is non-equity funding, it also preserves value for the owners into the future."
David McIntyre, Corporate Manager, at Bibby Financial Services commented: “With a far-reaching client base, across different markets, it was important that we understood Webcertain’s business, including their exports and billing processes. Our experience of dealing with an international client base was crucial to providing the right funding facility.
“This deal is a great example of our relationship driven approach in understanding a business and their needs, and then being able to tailor the right funding solution. We are looking forward to working with Webcertain in helping them to achieve their ambitious goals.”