Edinburgh marketing tech specialist nets £2m to fuel US growth ambitions

An Edinburgh-based provider of marketing technology to the global drinks and hospitality sector has secured a fresh £2 million injection to support its push into the US.

MRM Global (MRM) has received the follow-on investment from BGF, formerly the Business Growth Fund. The company’s technology platform enables global drinks manufacturers and wholesalers to ramp up the level of marketing support they provide to independent hospitality and retail customers. The tech is said to allow sales reps and customers to quickly and easily create on-demand marketing materials that increase brand visibility and product sales.

MRM has doubled its revenue since BGF’s original £2.6m investment in August 2020 and, despite the impact of the pandemic, the company has similarly doubled its headcount to 74, further developed its technology and expanded into key markets including Australia, the US, Canada and, most recently, Singapore.

In the last three years, MRM has expanded internationally to more than 30 countries and now works with a line-up of “world-leading” beer, wine, spirits suppliers and distributors. BGF’s follow-on funding will chiefly be used to support the delivery of a major, multi-year contract recently won with one of North America’s largest wine and spirits distributors.

Craig Letton, chief executive at MRM, said: “At a moment of significant opportunity for our business, this follow-on funding from BGF will boost our push into the US and help us meet an increased level of interest in our market-leading technology, from the drinks sector and beyond. The hard work of our expanding team, close relationships with suppliers and positive customer feedback have all been instrumental in our positive progress to-date.”

Euan Baxter, an investor at BGF and board member of MRM Global, said: “We invested in MRM in 2020 during the pandemic because we saw the opportunity to back a disruptive and high-growth technology business that is changing the way global drinks brands drive visibility at the point of purchase. It’s fantastic to see the company win this transformative contract in the US and we look forward to working with their high-quality team to drive further positive industry impact.”

BGF has a network of 16 offices across the UK and Ireland and was set up in 2011. It has invested in excess of £3.5 billion in more than 500 companies, making it among the most active growth capital investors in the UK. BGF is a minority, non-controlling equity partner with a patient outlook on investments, based on shared long-term goals with the management teams it backs. In 2018, Canada launched its equivalent – the Canadian Business Growth Fund – and in 2020, Australia did the same, both based on BGF’s approach and funding model.

Last July, BGF highlighted strong deal flow in Scotland in the first half of 2022, alongside four successful exits. It noted that the deals completed came from a range of sectors, including life sciences, technology, manufacturing and healthcare, with a broad geographical spread across Scotland while two of the three businesses have female founders. Also last summer, BGF unveiled a shake-up at the top and a string of other senior appointments.