Inovus Medical set for major expansion following six figure investment

Inovus Medical, a leading designer and manufacturer of medical and surgical simulators, has announced the successful completion of a £500,000 investment from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia Fund Managers and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.

The investment is part of a £700,000 investment round alongside an angel investor and will help to create four new jobs, accelerating the growth of Inovus Medical’s commercial operations in the domestic and international markets. The company also plans to utilise the funding to add a suite of new 3D printing technologies to its manufacturing processes and introduce new software additions to its existing product offering.

Inovus Medical has had an impressive year of growth as the company has more than doubled its head count, moved to new headquarters in St Helens, Merseyside, and won a number of awards, including the EIT Health Headstart Award and most recently the British Chamber of Commerce Regional Small Business of the Year Award. This impressive growth was helped by a previous £80,000 investment made by NPIF – BFS & MSIF Microfinance in December 2017.

This latest investment follows the launch of the company’s most recent innovation in healthcare simulation, the Bozzini® Hysteroscopy Trainer, a revolutionary, turnkey simulator for teaching the skill of hysteroscopy (operating on the womb). This injection of capital is set to help Inovus improve adoption of innovative products such as the Bozzini® in the UK and globally through its growing distribution network.

Inovus Medical’s CEO, Dr Elliot Street, said: “We are extremely excited to have Mercia as a partner on our journey of expansion in what is an evolving industry that presents a great deal of opportunity. Whilst it is gratifying to see how far we have come in the years since we launched, what is most exciting is the prospect of improving the care of patients across the globe through improved access to high quality, realistic and affordable healthcare simulation – this investment will allow us to do just that at a scale far beyond that which we were previously able.”

The investment was led by Mercia’s Fund Principal Will Clark and Investment Director Dr Mark Wyatt. Mark said: “This is a really exciting time for the Inovus team as they set their sights on expanding globally.

This funding round will enable Inovus Medical to establish a significant presence in the simulation and training market place, which is an area we feel has substantial growth potential.”

Grant Peggie, Director at British Business Bank, said: “We’re pleased that NPIF is providing capital that will enable Inovus Medical to innovate, move into new markets and scale up its operations. We would encourage other forward thinking companies across the North to explore the growth funding available from NPIF.”

HRC Law of Manchester provided legal counsel for the company. The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

About Mercia Fund Managers Mercia Fund Managers provides both equity and debt finance to small businesses based in the UK regions. The Group has more than 400 businesses in its portfolio, a strong record including 11 IPOs and manages circa £400.0million of third party funds, including Mercia EIS Funds.

Mercia Fund Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the FCA under firm reference number 524856
Enterprise Ventures Limited is authorised and regulated by the FCA under firm reference number 183363
EV Business Loans Limited is authorised and regulated by the FCA under firm reference number 443560

www.merciatech.co.uk

About The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund will invest in Microfinance, Business Loans and Equity Finance sub-funds which will offer financing ranging from £25,000 to £2m, specifically to help small and medium sized businesses secure the funding they need for growth and development.
The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund is operated by British Business Financial Services Limited, wholly owned by British Business Bank, the UK’s national economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to make finance markets for smaller businesses work more effectively, enabling those businesses to prosper, grow and build UK economic activity.
The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund is supported by the European Regional Development Fund, the European Investment Bank, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and British Business Finance Limited, a British Business Bank group company.
The NPIF covers the following LEP areas: Tees Valley Combined Authority, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Warrington, Cumbria, Liverpool City Region, Lancashire, Humber, Leeds City Region, Sheffield City Region, York, North Yorkshire and East Riding
The project is receiving up to £140,359,192 of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Department for Communities and Local Government is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Fund. Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.
The funds in which Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund invests are open to businesses with material operations, or planning to open material operations, in, Yorkshire and the Humber, the North West and Tees Valley.
The British Business Bank has published the Business Finance Guide (in partnership with the ICAEW, and a further 21 business and finance organisations). The guide, which impartially sets out the range finance options available to businesses and provides links to support available at a regional level, is available at www.thebusinessfinanceguide.co.uk/bbb