Redwigwam, the UK’s leading provider of flexible workers, has secured investment from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund to fuel the next phase of its expansion.
The Liverpool-based company received the funding from NPIF – Maven Equity Finance, managed by Maven and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.
Redwigwam was founded four years ago by serial entrepreneur Lorna Davidson, who had previously founded and sold Tactical Solutions, one of the UK’s leading field sales and marketing companies, for a headline price of £29million.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, it has seen the number of workers on its database surge to over 130,000 and the number of hirers increase by almost 400 to over 3,500 since the lockdown began at the end of March.
Like an online dating site, Redwigwam’s AI-powered tech platform uses algorithms to match within minutes workers with employers’ short-term or ad-hoc opportunities with 98% of posts filled within 4 hours.
Businesses, large and small, have switched to using the new flexible working approach of Redwigwam to source workers quickly, allowing them to dial staffing requirements up and down.
The investment from NPIF allows Redwigwam to strengthen its senior management team. Steve Harris joins as Managing Director with responsibility for tech and operations, having recently sold his own IT company Polymorph, while Dawn Paine becomes Marketing Director.
Dawn has previously held several senior marketing roles including Marketing Director at Nintendo UK and Vice President Marketing at Universal Pictures.
The pair join CEO Lorna Davidson, Sales Director Catherine Parkin and Finance Director David Hassall.
The funding will also enable the business to invest further in its proprietary tech platform and its marketing and advertising campaigns.
Lorna Davidson said: “We are delighted to have Maven on board to help us fuel the next chapter of our growth.
“We have seen through Covid-19 that the world of working has changed forever and the demand for flexible working, enabling businesses to scale up and down during times of volatility, has never been more important.
“Flexible working is now an integral part of workforce planning – over 5 million talented people already choose to work this way, a number that will rise exponentially as the full implications of the pandemic become clear.
“A growing number of people want to work differently, on their own terms. We are seeing this in the huge surge in demand on our platform.”
Alex Rothwell, Investment Manager with Maven said: “We’re delighted to support Redwigwam as they continue to grow. The business has fantastic potential and continues to thrive through their ability to innovate and serve new markets.”
“Lorna and the team are highly experienced and dedicated and we look forward to working with them as they develop going forward.”
Redwigwam’s army of flexible workers cover a diverse range of skills and roles including sales, construction, book-keeping, secretarial and admin, web development and social media, events, hospitality, field marketing, care, cleaning, mystery shopping, games development, project management, drivers, bid writers, sous chefs, florists, teachers, researchers and HR executives.
Asif Hamid MBE, Chair of Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) said: “I am delighted to see Redwigwam benefit form funding from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund. Redwigwam is a great example of the type of business that the NPIF is designed to assist – ambitous, innovative companies that are continuing to grow and invest in the Liverpool City Region.”
Grant Peggie, Director at the British Business Bank said: “This investment demonstrates that the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund continues to help businesses seeking capital to grow. The funding will help Redwigwam with its expansion plans and to grow their customer base. NPIF is still investing and supporting growing businesses across the North and we would encourage other businesses seeking finance to explore the NPIF funding options”
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.