Untitled Document

CICCWORLD– the web based interactive learning company has secured a £500,000 investment from Partnership Investment Finance.

CICCWORLD, with offices in Huddersfield and Manchester, produce high impact, media rich training programmes integrating the latest media broadcast technology. Their flagship product is a specialist receivables tracking, reporting and e-learning programme which helps solve, the challenges and issues associated with the credit management process.

The company was established in 2003 by brothers Darren and Mark Allardyce and long term partner Jeremy Sims. They have won a very enviable client base in a relatively short time frame, including many household names such as Yorkshire Bank, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ultimate Finance and British Gas.

Furthermore the company has won Institutional endorsement by private labeling its e-learning solution to the Institute of Credit Management which now provides online training and consultancy services to all members of the Institute, including HMRC, Shell and Orange via the learning portal www.icmos.org.uk.

Managing Director Darren Allardyce said: “With the Institute of Credit Management we have created a solid e-learning programme that delivers real bottom line benefits to our customers. The equity investment from Partnership Investment Finance will now allow us to expand the business into new geographical markets. We have already licenced our technology into the US market and are now able to exploit the opportunities to their full potential.

”Now that our model is proven in the credit sector, we are rapidly expanding our interactive learning services into similar vertical markets.”

Partnership Investment Finance is a £37m investment fund aimed at supporting growing businesses in Yorkshire and Humber. It aims to encourage enterprise and economic regeneration by providing equity investments and loans to eligible businesses in the region’s Objective 2 areas.

Partnership Investment Finance Investment Manager Duncan Gray, said: “CICCWORLD offered us a compelling business proposition. Since its launch four years ago the CICCWORLD team have proven the company’s business model through their work with the Institute of Credit Management.

“PIF’s investment will now help support the company’s growth in to new markets providing it with the working capital to expand overseas.”

CICCWORLD was advised by Andrew Francey and Dan McCormack at Leeds law firm Lupton Fawcett. Andrew Francey commented: "CICCWORLD is advancing the boundaries of e-learning. The investment finance provided by PIF will enable the business to implement its ambitious plans for future growth."

Partnership Investment Finance is a commercial fund not a grant provider.

PIF is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund and European Social Fund programmes. PIF’s resources are a mixture of private and public finance from key partners including the European Union; the regional development agency Yorkshire Forward; Barclays Bank and YFM Group, which is the fund’s contracted independent fund manager. Partnership Investment Finance investments and loans are made via four sub-funds.

• The Micro Loans Fund of £5m offering loans of up to £15,000
• The Small Loans Fund of £10m offering loans of between £15,000 and £100,000
• A Mezzanine Fund of £10m making available debt-equity investments up to £250,000
• A £12m Equity Fund making individual investments up to a maximum of £1m.

Partnership Investment Finance is the trading name of Partnership Investment Fund which comprises four sub funds each of which is managed by YFM Venture Finance Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and is part of the YFM Group. Partnership Investment Fund Limited provides access to an Investment Aftercare Scheme which is not subject to Financial Services Authority regulation.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ian Green, GREEN Communications
Tel: 0845 4503210 email: ian@greencomms.com
Abi White, GREEN Communications
Tel: 0845 4503210 email: abi@ greencomms.com