Sonovate raises £14m, eyes international expansion

Leading recruitment finance provider Sonovate secures £14m Series B, with £9m in equity.

Sonovate, a specialist invoice finance platform for the recruitment industry, has raised £9m in a Series B fundraise, in addition to £5m in debt funding. The money will be used to plan for international expansion in Europe and North America over the next year, as well as to grow the team. The company will also invest in developing new products and winning more recruitment agencies and other businesses using contingent staff as customers.

The Series B round was led by Global Founders Capital, the investment vehicle of Rocket Internet, with participation also coming from Dawn Capital. Sonovate last raised money in February of this year – a £20m Series A round led by Dawn Capital, with debt capital supplied by Shawbrook Business Credit.

“Sonovate’s product is a highly innovative solution that has made a huge impact on the recruitment sector in the UK,” said Daniel Jones, partner at Global Founders Capital. “They have already demonstrated rapid growth and dominance within their market and we believe they have the potential to go even bigger. We’re excited to lead the Series B investment in Sonovate and support the team as they take the business to the next level.”

Sonovate has boosted its headcount from 25 to 100 over the past year, and claims to be growing at a rate of 20 per cent a month. The company expects to channel £245m of funding through the platform in the coming year.

Sonovate sets out to solve the recurring admin and cash flow challenges that are often associated with running contractors. Founders Richard Prime (pictured above) and Damon Chapple previously worked as directors at a FTSE 250 recruitment agency.

“We launched Sonovate as a disruptive start-up to challenge the status quo in recruitment,” said Sonovate co-CEO Richard Prime. “In just two years we have completely overtaken the banks, transformed the industry and changed how recruitment agencies operate and we are delighted that this has been recognised by Global Founders Capital.”