11th September 2006
The Local Data Company, which operates the UK’s most accurate database of in-depth information on UK city centre retail businesses and other urban points of interest, has raised £250,000 from The Capital Fund, a £50 million venture capital fund that invests in fast-growth companies in Greater London. The Company’s management team will use the new funding, in conjunction with over £100,000 of further funding from existing shareholders, to extend its geographical coverage to include 350,000 businesses in over 100 towns and cities across the UK.
Founded in 2003, The Local Data Company currently maintains a database of detailed information on over 80,000 retail units in 30 UK city centres, ranging from shops, bars and restaurants to hotels and clubs, and has established a unique retail image library of high quality, digital photographs of each site. The data, which includes details of the occupier, the address, business categorisation, features and attributes, and a description, is collected by a network of dedicated field researchers employed by The Local Data Company, and updated every six months to ensure that the accuracy and quality are maintained. Conventional data suppliers typically update their records every 18 months.
The rich data and images can be used by a wide range of organisations from retail researchers, estate agents, directory services and business information companies to internet search engines, mapping and in-car navigation companies as well as city guides and companies supplying mobile operators with web searching capabilities. The Local Data Company’s prestigious client list includes 192.com, Lastminute.com and Infoserve, who use the data in client websites, such as ThisisLondon.
Barnaby Oswald, Co-Founder and Managing Director of The Local Data Company, said: “Traditionally, a name, address and telephone number for a retail site were all that the market required. However, the advent of the internet and mobile applications means that sparse and infrequently updated data is no longer sufficient to meet the demands of the market. We aim to offer comprehensive and accurate data to a range of customers, including mobile and internet customers looking for rich content. For example, one of our most recent contracts is to supply data for use in a new mobile local search service launched by a major telecommunications company. We are also unique in our ability to supply a high quality image of each site.”
“As well as supplying data to clients, we offer a bespoke retail research service for customers who commission specific reports that provide detailed analysis of a city, street or retail sector, and a bespoke image service that includes industrial and commercial as well as retail sites. As we have built up a data archive over a number of years, we can track trends and changes in many areas, including ‘churn’ or turnover rates showing the number of businesses that have opened and closed.”
Other customers, such as Virgin.net, use The Local Data Company’s portal service, which provides a website containing data that they can customise. Virgin.net is using the service to provide pub and restaurant guides.
Mr Oswald commented on the fundraising process: “This was the first time that we had sought institutional funding and we know how difficult it can be to raise this ‘equity gap’ level of capital. However, we found The Capital Fund efficient and straightforward to deal with. We are pleased that they have chosen to back the growth of our business and that they have also nominated a non-executive director, Mohammed Raja, who brings valuable and relevant experience gained in companies such as Thomson Directories.”
The Capital Fund’s Investment Manager, Stuart Nicol, said: “The Local Data Company already has a significant, high quality, detailed and up-to-date database that supplies a variety of well-known clients. This is hard graft and most data suppliers avoid the challenges of physical site visits. However, we believe that with management continuing to efficiently build a very accurate proprietary database of premises information, the Company will meet the increasing demand for such data driven by internet and mobile customers. We also anticipate that as the Company grows it will become an increasingly valuable acquisition for a larger data provider. We wish Barney and his team every success with their plans.”
Press enquiries to Barnaby Oswald, Managing Director, The Local Data Company.
t: +44 (0) 20 3008 2372 e: barney [at] localdatacompany.com
Launched in 2002, The Capital Fund is a £50 million venture capital fund which backs fast-growing, small and medium-sized enterprises in Greater London. To date, the Fund has made over 40 investments in London-based companies and was named Regional Venture Capital Fund of the Year at the Investor Allstars Awards 2005.
Initial investments can be up to £250,000 and the Fund can invest a further £250,000 after six months or more. In some circumstances, alongside other new investors, the Fund can follow on its investments with up to £5m in total in a single company. The Capital Fund is the largest of the nine Regional Venture Capital Funds and has a mixture of public and private sector investors. For further information: www.thecapitalfund.co.uk
The Capital Fund is managed by YFM Venture Finance Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and part of the YFM Group. The YFM Group provides investment capital and business development services to SMEs throughout the UK. It currently has £250m in funds and consultancy contracts under management, with over 70 employees. For further information: www.yfmgroup.co.uk
The Local Data Company gathers and sells rich data on UK city centre retail businesses and other points of interest.
The management team at the Company previously founded e-street.com and when e-street went into liquidation they decided to develop the existing database of 62,000 retail sites. They subsequently used these assets to found The Local Data Company and also set up a unique image library of retail sites.
The Local Data Company has six staff and a team of field researchers and photographers who continually gather data on sites, and images, in cities across the UK, using tablet PCs and digital cameras.
The Local Data Company is located in Hammersmith, London.
For further information: www.localdatacompany.com
Copyright 2008. The Local Data Company Ltd, 1 Hammersmith Grove, London W6 0NB. Registered Company No. 4821785 VAT No. 820601475