Octopus in £2m series-A for Segura

The institutional funds, the first raised by Segura since inception in 2010, will be used to strengthen its technology, used by retailers to ensure transparency within their supply chains.

The business claimed there was rising appetite for its services, having signed up an estimated 2,000 factories and 18,000 users worldwide to date, according to press reports. Segura intends to add new names to its client base in the coming years and to that end, part of the capital will be dedicated to new hires.

The company expects demand for its technology to stay on the rise after the UK government pushed reform for the Modern Slavery Act in October 2015. As part of the changes, British businesses above the £36m turnover mark are required to provide a transparent account that slavery and child labour does not affect their supply chains.

According to unquote" data, the investment is the latest in an active Q4 2015 for Octopus. Having recently added Tim Lambert as strategic partnerships manager, the firm closed a £140m later-stage fund, supported the MBO of steel section supplier Anglo European and backed VouchedFor's and Eve's $5.4m and £2.5m series-A rounds.

Company
Founded in 2010, Segura Systems develops technologies allowing retailers and other clients to monitor their supply chain. Its cloud-based software controls how primary, secondary and tertiary suppliers source their goods to exclude those produced through child labour and slavery. With headquarters in London, the business employs eight people and is said by press reports to be profitable.

People
The work of Octopus Ventures on the deal was led by investment manager Malcolm Ferguson. Peter Needle and Ian Hepworth co-founded Segura Systems, the former being the company's current CEO.

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• Topics
• Expansion
• Technology
• UK / Ireland
• United Kingdom
• Octopus Ventures
• Venture