Edinburgh tech firm secures £3.05m in latest funding round

A £1m investment was provided by the Investment Fund for Scotland (IFS), Equity Finance, managed by Maven Capital Partners and delivered by the British Business Bank. Existing investors Mercia and Archangels also supported in the round.

Administrate is a cloud-based training management platform, helping clients to streamline their entire training operation. The software integrates with a customers’ existing learning management system and critical business systems, acting as a hub to manage training and scheduling.

Large enterprises struggle to effectively manage their training programmes, with 80% still delivered in the classroom and managed on spreadsheets. Administrates’ training management system differentiates itself by offering a one-stop solution to manage advanced classroom training or high-value training for its customers.

The transaction coincides with the launch of the company’s new AI powered scheduler that allows enterprise customers to plan, schedule, and optimise complex classroom training activities at scale. This allows for a greater level of automation in the training process ensuring a reduction in client time and cost. The funding will enable the business to expand its market reach through the deployment of this new technology to its diverse group of international customers which includes Siemens, Royal Caribbean and Maersk.

Rob Stevenson, investment manager at Maven, said: “Administrates’ platform automates the challenges faced by large scale organisations and allows clients to deliver a leaner and more cost effective training solution.

“We’re delighted to support John and the team at an exciting stage in the company’s journey and look forward to working with them to drive the business forward.”

John Peebles, CEO of Administrate, said: “It’s an exciting time for Administrate and our customers – we’ve been thrilled with the positive impact we’re seeing with the scheduler and other platform improvements, and this investment will allow us to continue to invest in and scale our offering.”

Mark Sterritt, director, nations and regions funds, at the British Business Bank, said: “The software developed by Administrate is already being used successfully by several multi-national organisations and this funding boost will enable the business to take that one step further with inbuilt AI.

“Technology is one of Scotland’s fastest growing sectors, but ensuring entrepreneurs have access to funding opportunities through the likes of the Investment Fund for Scotland is essential to ensure that momentum continues.”

This transaction marks the fourth investment made by IFS Maven Equity Finance. The fund has also backed 3D printed micro-tumour specialist Carcinotech, MedTech company Calcivis, and Glasgow University spinout Nami Surgical.

The £150m IFS covers the whole of Scotland and provides loans from £25,000 to £2m and equity investment up to £5m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to start up, scale up or stay ahead.