Shot Scope Scores Investment to Manufacture Wearable Tech for Golfers in Scotland

Scottish start-up Shot Scope announced today that it has received investment of £415,000 to launch its wearable performance tracking technology for golfers to the US and UK markets.

Business angel syndicate Equity Gap led the deal and was joined by two other investors, the Scottish Investment Bank – the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise – and the University of Edinburgh’s in-house venture capital fund, Old College Capital.

Shot Scope will use the investment to build its team, complete product development and start manufacturing ahead of launch in January 2016 at the global golf industry’s annual gathering, the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Florida.

Aimed at golfers of all levels who want to improve their performance, Shot Scope’s patent pending technology automatically collects scoring and statistical data as a golfer plays. On completion of a round, data is uploaded to the Shot Scope website or mobile app where statistics, analytics and maps detailing every shot are displayed in a graphical user interface.

Smaller than an average wristwatch, the technology does not require the golfer to push buttons or perform any actions that would interrupt their game. Shot Scope’s technology does not need beacons to be installed at courses and cannot be replicated by a smartphone app.

Shot Scope was founded in 2013 by David Hunter, an electronics design engineer with seven years industry experience who was working as a secondary school teacher at the time. A keen golfer himself, Hunter understands the desire to learn from mistakes and improve play. But while other sports have seen a surge in wearable technologies designed to help with performance, nothing was available to track golfers’ stats automatically.

He says: “Golfers have always been obsessed with tracking performance and it is amazing that in 2015 so many golfers, even professionals, rely on data collected with paper and pen. Shot Scope changes that by automatically collecting over 50 performance indicators, allowing you to identify your most crucial areas for improvement. For the first time it will give amateur golfers access to the kind of game changing information that professionals can only collect with a team of helpers.”

Having built close relationships with fabricants and assemblers during his time as an electronics engineer, Hunter is committed to manufacturing his product in Scotland.

He says: “The quotes we have received are competitive with China and we can expect continuity throughout the manufacturing process if we choose Scottish companies. I am really pleased that it looks like we are going to be able to do it all in Scotland.”

Fraser Lusty of angel syndicate Equity Gap first met Hunter in 2014 and was impressed by his commitment and drive.

He says: “David is an incredibly driven individual and his experience as an electronics design engineer has given him the knowledge to turn his idea into a reality. The wearable tech market is strong and Shot Scope has a unique product with wide appeal to golfers of all abilities. We are delighted to be able to provide funding and advice to help David and his team to launch to market in January.”

Kerry Sharp, Head of the Scottish Investment Bank, says: “We were impressed with the innovative approach of Shot Scope and it’s exciting to see them recruiting to build a team and progress to product development. We look forward to seeing the next chapter as their business grows”

Andrea Young, Fund Manager at Old College Capital, says: “Shot Scope is a fine example of the high calibre talent amongst the student population at The University of Edinburgh. We are pleased to welcome this company to Old College Capital’s portfolio, joining Equity Gap and the Scottish Investment Bank in their support. Shot Scope is not only developing wearable technology in an underserved market with big opportunities, they are manufacturing this product here at home. A great example of what Scottish start-ups can do: make innovative Scottish products here in Scotland.”

Shot Scope is based at the Edinburgh Technology Transfer Centre, the incubation centre at the University of Edinburgh’s Kings Buildings campus.  Hunter is a funded enterprise fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and received grant funding from Innovate UK, Santander, Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Institute for Enterprise (SIE). In November 2014 Shot Scope was awarded a Scottish Enterprise SMART award of £97,000

Hunter is grateful for the support he has received from the Scottish start-up community and organisations like Scottish Enterprise and Launch.ed.

He says: “Edinburgh is an exceptional place to start a technology business. The start-up network has been so supportive of Shot Scope and we are lucky to have such an active and engaged community of angel investors.”

www.shotscope.com

 

 Revolut, the company cutting the cost of sending & spending money abroad, raises £1.5m investment led by Balderton Capital

 

•       People in the UK to spend in excess of $439m using payment cards abroad and a further $1.23bn when sending money overseas this year

•       Fintech startup launches completely free for 12 months foreign exchange service

•       Revolut joins Nutmeg, Zopa and Crowdcube in Balderton portfolio

 

London, 20 July 2015 – Revolut, an alternative foreign exchange service, has recently raised investment in a round led by Balderton Capital, Europe’s leading tech venture capital firm, to launch its ground-breaking international money-transfer app on iOS and Android.

 

Balderton leads a £1.5m investment round, and adds Revolut to its portfolio of successful fintech companies such as Zopa, Crowdcube and Nutmeg. SeedCamp, Europe's leading pre-seed and seed stage acceleration fund, is also backing Revolut.

 

The cost of spending and sending money abroad from the UK in 2015 is estimated to hit $1.67bn. Revolut has launched with the ability and ambition to eradicate unwarranted fees levied at consumers and those that penalise the recipients of much needed remittance.

 

UK issued debit, credit and charge cards were used to make 440 million purchases abroad in 2014. UK consumers also used their cards to withdraw the equivalent of $9.5billion in cash while overseas last year, making a total of 53 million visits to overseas ATMs. The mean average of charges imposed by the banks on debit card use in 2014 totaled $439m. This staggering sum has been calculated without even considering the additional costs incurred by Brits exchanging cash currency before travelling, estimated also to be in the hundreds of millions. 

 

For sending money to friends and family abroad, the picture is no better. According to the World Bank, the average cost of sending money abroad in the UK is currently 7.2%. Revolut has calculated that equates to around $1.23 billion a year when you consider the $17.1bn sent abroad by migrants in 2014.

 

In a bid to eliminate these unwarranted charges, Revolut has committed to offering completely unbeatable rates and zero charges for foreign exchange for the first 12 months of a customer using the service. Combined, Revolut’s free intuitive app and prepaid Mastercard act as a money service, converting money in up to 23 currencies as customers spend and send using the best available rates.

 

Once a customer downloads the free Revolut app (available on iOS and Android), they are able to set up an account and order a free multi-currency MasterCard in a matter of seconds. The Revolut card is delivered at no cost to the customer within two working days in the UK. The card can be used abroad with no fees when you spend or withdraw cash from an ATM.

 

Nikolay Storonsky of Revolut said:

“Revolut has an ambition to change the way money is transacted, sent and spent around the world.  We are proud and delighted to introduce the world’s best-value digital currency exchange service. The app and card are intuitive to use, free for all and offer customers the peace of mind that, with Revolut, you can use your money across borders at unbeatable value.”

 

Daniel Waterhouse, General Partner at Balderton said,

“The addressable market for Revolut is huge. Of course, eradicating hidden costs for travellers is a big part of what they do, but Revolut's app has a myriad of applications. Those who own property abroad, companies that pay foreign workers, and those sending wages across borders all stand to benefit. We are delighted to invest in Revolut as they have an exceptionally bright team, and they're solving a major pain-point that the banks have ignored, and they're doing it with an extremely elegant, mobile-first user-interface." 

 

How does it work?

 

In order to guarantee the very best rate available, Revolut takes the Interbank exchange rate, which is updated every half a second. The Interbank is the top-level wholesale market through which most currency transactions are channelled and, as such, offers the best possible exchange rate.

 

Revolut works via a multi-currency MasterCard and a mobile app, available on both iOS and Android. Users are able to set up an account via the Revolut app in seconds, enabling them to transfer money via SMS, WhatsApp and social media channels.

 

The Revolut multi-currency card is linked to the Revolut app and, like a credit or debit card, can be used wherever MasterCard is accepted, at ATMs, in-store, or online.

 

Revolut is working with Optimal Payments to utilise their payments expertise.  Through partnership with Optimal Payments, Revolut enables customers to hold funds in multiple currencies, and to spend online and in-store with an accepted multi-currency MasterCard. 

 

Optimal Payments’ Acquiring Services enables Revolut’s customers to load funds to their accounts. Merchants use NETBANX® and Optimal Payments’ acquiring platform and services to simplify how they accept credit and debit card.  Optimal Payments is authorised by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to issue electronic money and is a Principal Member of MasterCard International Inc. 

 

 

Consilium Strategic Communications Advises Immunocore on its $320 Million (£205 Million) Financing

 

Europe's Largest Private Life Sciences Funding Round

 

London, 20 July 2015 - Consilium Strategic Communications, a global leader in strategic healthcare communications, is pleased to have advised Immunocore Limited (“Immunocore”) on its successful US$320 million (GBP £205 million) private financing round. Immunocore is a world-leading biotechnology company developing novel T cell receptor based biological drugs to treat cancer, viral infections and autoimmune disease. 

 

Immunocore’s oversubscribed funding round was the largest ever for a private European life sciences company.  The subscribers included Woodford Investment Management, Malin Corporation plc, Eli Lilly and Company and RTW Investments, as well as a number of new and existing international investors.  The proceeds will enable Immunocore to further accelerate the development of its proprietary pipeline. 

 

The Consilium Strategic Communications team advising Immunocore comprised Mary-Jane Elliott, Jessica Hodgson, Chris Welsh and Laura Thornton.  Consilium was retained by Immunocore in early 2015 to assist with financial, corporate and scientific communications. 

 

Mary-Jane Elliott, Managing Partner at Consilium Strategic Communications, commented: “We are delighted and proud to be working with Immunocore.  This unprecedented financing puts Immunocore at the centre stage and is a great endorsement of Immunocore’s science as well as that which emanates from UK and European life science companies. We are pleased to support clients with such innovation and ambition and we look forward to continuing to work with Immunocore. 

 

In August, Consilium will celebrate its second anniversary since the management buy-out and we are proud to have, over that time, doubled the size of our healthcare focused team as well as our client base and expanded our geographic footprint in US and Europe.”

 

 

 

A Holiday From Greece

 

 

 20 Jul 2015 06:31 am | Paul Sedgwick  

 

Equity markets rallied modestly this week as the focus moved from Greece back to interest rates and earnings. The FTSE 100 rose just over 1% on the week. Company reporting season started in earnest in the past week, as most of the major US banks and several notable corporates announced their second quarter results. It remains early days but so far the likes of JP Morgan and Citi beat expectations, as did Johnson and Johnson and Google.

 

Interest rates came back into focus, the ECB left rates unchanged at their monthly meeting as the Governor of the Bank of England and the Chair of the US Federal Reserve both spoke of the desire to start “normalizing” interest rates at some point this year.  Inflation in the UK, year on year for June remained at zero as the UK unemployment rate rose slightly. Economic data in the US remains patchy as the latest retail sales for June came in below expectations. US treasury bond prices rose slightly on the week but continue to remain stable after the sharp fall earlier in the year. UK gilt yields like wise remain stable, the ten-year gilt yield currently trades at just over 2%.

 

Equity sentiment improved after the reluctant agreement on both sides to continue the bailout the Greek economy.  Greece may come of the headlines for a while, but it is hard to believe this will prove to be the end of the saga. The reputations of both sides have not been enhanced by the to-ing and fro-ing of the past weeks. Greece on Monday is expected to make a 3.5bn euro payment to the European Central Bank.

 

The Vix fell on the week to trade back at the bottom end of its trading range. After strong equity inflows in the previous week the past week saw a further $8bn go into equity funds. Since late May early June nearly $50 billion has come out of bond and money market funds, finding its way into equity funds.

 

The coming week will once again be dominated by corporate earnings, more than 100 of the S&P 500 companies report results. A few of the notables are, Morgan Stanley, Haliburton, Apple, Coca- Cola and General Motors.

 

Looking to the week ahead from a macro viewpoint, the focus in the US will probably be Wednesday’s homes sales report. Homebuilder confidence and housing starts have been rising.

 

For the UK the focus on Wednesday will be the release of the minutes from the last rate setting meeting held earlier in the month. Expectations are that the vote remained unanimous for rates to remain unchanged, however there may once again be signs that Mr. McCafferty is looking to vote for a rate rise sooner than later.

 

 

Other major announcements at the end of the week is the release of initial July estimates of purchasing managers indices for China, Germany, France and the Eurozone overall. Hopes are that the strong readings for June in the eurozone will not be impacted by the events in Greece.