Lancaster’s tech sector is set for success after receiving at least £4.5m in investment during the last week of June alone.
Digital mapping company Gaist Software received a £2.7m injection from the Business Growth Fund.
The company, based at Lancaster University’s InfoLab21, will use the money to expand its HighwayView software and expand its team’s support customer growth.
Gastro-tech and eCommerce company Sous Vide Tools has also agreed a £700k trade finance facility with HSBC to increase international sales.
The company has established itself as a world-leader in the art of sous vide, a popular cooking technique, with its recently-launched iVide WiFi cooker transforming the market.
Ticketing industry disruptor Vibe Tickets has received £700k in investment from stock-market listed Vela Technologies and tech entrepreneur Scott Fletcher. Vibe will invest the money into further developing its platform and growing its community.
Elsewhere, the Government’s innovation agency Innovate UK announced the winners of grants under its Faraday Battery Challenge and two of the seven projects were based in Lancaster.
The programme to develop cost-effective, high-performance, durable, safe, low-weight and recyclable batteries, saw a consortium of Lina Energy, Lancaster University and the Centre for Process Innovation scoop over £200,000 to fund its innovative sodium battery technology.
Another consortium of artificial intelligence specialist Miralis Data and electronics designer and manufacturer Milliamp Technologies received a six-figure sum. The funds will be injected into SAMBA, a project seeking to develop an innovative health module that integrates with electric vehicle chargers and uses smart algorithm technology to help prolong battery life.
These major investments come on the back of a seven-figure investment by Maven Capital and the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund into Lancaster University spin-out and language analysis specialist Relative Insight. The company counts Disney, Unilever and Nikon amongst its clients.
“These investments reflect the strength of Lancaster’s rapidly growing tech sector,” said Digital Lancashire chair Michael Gibson.
“With a world-class University, lots of spin-out companies, easy access to London and the UK’s major cities and a great place to live and work, Lancaster is emerging as a leading innovation centre of national and international importance.”