Ulster Bank-backed £200k investment supports Makematic to triple licensing revenues

Makematic is using the funds to invest in the production of new video content as well as in-house technology to streamline its licensing and distribution.

The investment will see the business triple its annual turnover from the licensing of its content in the next financial year.

The funds have been secured with Ulster Bank through the UK Government-backed Recovery Loan Scheme. Launched in April this year, the scheme supports access to finance for businesses of any size as they grow and recover from the disruption caused by the pandemic.

Established in 2016 by co-founders Catherine Davies and Mark Nagurski, Makematic partners with high-profile brands – including Amazon, Adobe, Microsoft and Crayola – and non-profit organisations – such as the New-York Historical Society, established in 1804 as the city’s first museum – to produce and distribute short, educational animations and live action videos.

Ulster Bank business development manager Aidan McGrath says Makematic is a prime example of how innovative Northern Ireland-based SMEs are achieving significant global reach.

He continued: “In 2016, Catherine and Mark saw how the education sector was developing and identified the need for a service to respond to growing demand for creative and engaging digital learning resources. The signs were there for its future adoption, but few could have predicted such a significant and sudden shift to digital and remote learning. That shift has amplified demand and presented massive opportunities for growth. We’re extremely pleased to play our role in supporting Makematic to scale-up.”

Mr Nagurski explained: “It has been a very interesting, albeit challenging time in the education space. There was an overnight shift to digital and remote learning; a development that was already in play, but accelerated by the pandemic. For us, this translates to a strong uptick in new business bookings and clients. With the support of Ulster Bank we’re now developing a new licensing platform that will enable us to take the business to the next level.”

Ms Davies added: “The technology will overhaul our licensing and distribution process, and this is the cornerstone of our next fundraising round as we speak to private investors in the UK, US and Australia. Previously, we managed our licensing and distribution manually. Our new platform will be an automated one, generating a consistent revenue stream while we focus on building the business and brand in new markets and sectors.”

In 2019, the Londonderry-headquartered company announced it had secured a £1m seed investment from Cordovan Capital Partners; Co-Fund NI (ERDF), managed by Clarendon Fund Managers; and Techstart Ventures.

Earlier this year, it was announced as the Best Established Small/Medium Business of the Year in the 2021 Belfast Telegraph Business Awards in partnership with Ulster Bank.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.

You can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk

With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Thank you