Online publishing and events company GovToday has secured an investment of £700,000 in a funding round led by the The North West Fund for Digital & Creative.
The MediaCity-based company, which was founded in 2008 by Tony Farrar, Rob Hollis and Richard Taylor and employs 48 people, delivers government policy news and opinion through its online portal, as well as a programme of public sector-focused conferences.
The investment was supported by Ronan Kearney at Osprey Capital, which itself invested in GovToday in May, with loan finance provided by NatWest. The North West Fund for Digital & Creative is managed by AXM Venture Capital.
It will be used to extend GovToday’s conference programme into new policy areas and subjects, improve its digital presence and grow its sales resource.
Richard Taylor, co-founder and digital director, said: “This current wave of investment, and AXM’s experience in the digital and creative industries, combined with our current board of David Wade-Smith as Govtoday’s chairman, Erica Ingham as finance director and Ronan Kearney’s expertise in the financial markets, offers us a fantastic opportunity to expand our digital platform and events portfolio both in the UK and also into new markets and countries. This investment will boost key appointments across our digital, sales and editorial staff.”
David Smith, investment director of AXM Venture Capital, added: “We are delighted to have led a substantial round for GovToday. The team has enormous energy and dynamism, and we are confident that they will become the leader in this sector, serving a very clear need within the public sector.”
GovToday joins Liverpool’s Branded Reality, Manchester’s RealityMine and Cheshire’s Nomad Games, among others, in securing cash from the fund this year.
