Six-figure boost for IT firm

An IT business which repairs and resells old computing equipment has secured £475,000 in new funding as it looks to increase its global presence.

North East-based RefurbThat.com refurbishes bulk lots of computing equipment, adding more than three years to the life of each item in the process, and then resells them through its website, as well as via other e-tailers.

Most of the equipment it purchases originates from large corporations which are upgrading their IT systems after reaching the end of their contracts with the leasing firm that supplied it to them.

To support its development plans the firm has secured a £150,000 investment from the Finance For Business North East Growth Fund that,  overseen by fund management firm NEL Fund Managers.

This is the key part of an initial round of £475,000 of funding with other investors being the incoming management team and a US-based fund.

Managing Director Mark Harrison, who has recently returned to the UK after several years in the US computing industry to join forces with his brother Mick, said: “As the numbers of items in the lots that we buy has grown, the amount of money needed to pay for them all has done the same, and we have to be in a position to secure deals quickly if we’re to get the equipment we want at the right price.

“The additional capital we’ve now secured gives us the flexibility we need to grab purchasing opportunities as they come up, and to also look in detail at the markets into which we can grow in the future, so we can see how we can get the best available returns.”

Aimed at regional businesses which are at a development and growth stage, the Growth Fund forms part of the wider Finance for Business North East Fund.

Managed by North East Finance, it will see £125m of investment capital injected into the region by the European Investment Bank and the European Regional Development Fund 2007-13 over a five year period.

NEL is looking to make around 130 investments over the five-year life span of the Growth Fund, and is actively looking to speak to ambitious north east companies with robust business plans.