Immersive technology business Clicks+Links has been loaned £160,000 by the Greater Manchester Export Fund to expand sales of its virtual reality products across Europe.
Clicks+Links, established in 2000 by founder and CEO Vin Sumner, now has three offices in Manchester, Amsterdam and Copenhagen and a team of 12 people.
The company specialises in building virtual reality and immersive products and technologies for the business market.
It has already completed projects for clients including the Co-op, Manchester City Council, Sellafield, the Crossrail tunnel project in London and is a partner on the CityVerve project.
Its most recent commission was the City-Zen project in Amsterdam and Grenoble, for which they developed a game to encourage energy saving amongst young people.
“From being one of the first companies to host virtual concerts, we have established a strong reputation for our innovative work for business and corporate clients,” said CEO Vin Sumner.
“The Export Fund loan will now equip us for the next stage of our European expansion journey, which will see us grow our export sales considerably.
“The immersive applications and digital experiences we create can add hugely to the value of an organisation, from building a virtual reality construction site to creating exciting 3D training and collaborative working programmes.”
Delivered by Business Finance Solutions, Business Growth Hub and the Department for International Trade, which are all part of The Growth Company, GMEF provides access to loan funding and International trade support for both new and existing exporters to secure and grow export contracts all over the world.
Clicks+Links will use the Export Fund loan to develop further international projects including the LOOPER project in Brussels, Venice and Manchester.
Andy Nichols, senior loan manager at BFS, said: “GM is now recognised as a major international hub for VR and gaming and we’re delighted to be able to help Vin and his team to bring those same applications to a much wider commercial and corporate audience. “The immersive and multi-sensory technology that Clicks+Links has developed is revolutionising the way we do business, both in the UK and globally, putting people into the heart of a remote workplace, new building or event.”
The GM Export Fund was open from November 2015 to May 2017 to small or medium enterprises located in Greater Manchester.
BFS will continue to support any business requiring export finance as the existing Export Loan Fund is a revolving fund to provide support to Greater Manchester businesses over the next ten years.