TradingPartners Raises Up to £4.6m of Expansion Capital

 

London – Kennet Venture Partners Ltd (“Kennet”), a leading international venture capital firm focused on the technology sector, and Silicon Valley Bank, a U.S.-based technology-focused financial services company, have provided up to £4.6 million in equity and debt financing to TradingPartners Holdings Ltd (“TradingPartners”), the independent U.K. market leader in eSourcing services and technology.

Since 2001 TradingPartners has been providing firms in Europe and the U.S. — especially large retailers, midmarket manufacturers and financial services firms — with end-to-end eSourcing solutions. TradingPartners combines proprietary Web-based technologies with deep product category expertise to help companies radically improve their procurement practices.

“In TradingPartners we found a fast-growing, profitable and entrepreneurial business with unparalleled customer satisfaction,” said Maximilian Bleyleben, investment director at Kennet. “The company has demonstrated that there is a clear market opportunity to provide focused, fully-managed sourcing services to companies that are interested in reducing procurement costs across their most critical purchasing categories.”

Chirag Shah, CEO of TradingPartners added, “This investment from a leading international venture firm will allow TradingPartners to further roll out its activities in the UK, U.S. and continental Europe. It will also cement our role as independent European market leader and pave the way for TradingPartners to be a consolidator in this market.”

As part of Kennet’s investment, Maximilian Bleyleben will join the Board of Directors of TradingPartners. This is TradingPartners’ first round of external financing. Since foundation the company has been profitable every year, and its revenues have achieved a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 85% between 2001 and 2004.

Andy Tsao, managing director of SVB Europe Advisors Limited said, “U.K.-based technology companies do not currently have many options when it comes to debt financing and our goal is to offer access to our vast network of business connections and debt sources in the U.S., spurring additional growth opportunities for ambitious entrepreneurs like Chirag Shah.” SVB Europe Advisors Limited is a business development subsidiary of Silicon Valley Bank.

TradingPartners works closely with procurement directors and category managers to identify potential savings, analyse supplier markets, seek out new suppliers, organise and project-manage reverse auctions, and assist with post-savings implementation of new contracts. Today TradingPartners operates in London, Chicago, Paris and Milan. Its customers include Caterpillar, Focus, JCB, the NHS Purchasing & Supply Agency and MOD-DLO.

Recently, the NHS saved an estimated £1 million on the supply of surgical instruments after taking part in an eSourcing project managed by TradingPartners. This project involved intensive research in the supplier market followed by an e-auction for an array of “everyday” instruments routinely used in hospital wards such as scissors, forceps and syringe holders. The savings represent a cut of approximately 60 per cent on the existing bill for these items.

So far the NHS has saved an estimated total of £3.3 million in eSourcing projects managed by TradingPartners — averaging 27 per cent savings on existing budgets — for items including patients’ identity bracelets, intravenous fluids and alcohol gel.

About TradingPartners

TradingPartners is one of the leading providers of eSourcing services in the world. Using a blend of web-based tools, procurement professionals, and a multi-lingual sourcing team, TradingPartners offers a global eSourcing service for anything from adhesives and agency staff to workwear and zinc castings, saving clients up to 60 per cent on contracts with suppliers. Having experience of working across all major sectors, on a case-by-case basis, TradingPartners’ approach is tailored to meet client and sector needs.

The company’s expert staff at its head office in London, UK and in Paris, Milan and Chicago are constantly seeking out and evaluating top quality suppliers throughout the world, especially from competitive emerging markets such as China, Russia, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. TradingPartners has sourced over 500 commodities from more than 10,000 suppliers in thousands of eSourcing events.

For more information: www.tradingpartners.com

About Kennet Venture Partners

Kennet Venture Partners is a leading transatlantic venture capital firm which invests in growth companies providing information technology products and business services that leverage information technology. Kennet provides expansion capital to firms who want to accelerate growth and build exceptional shareholder value in partnership with an experienced investor. Kennet Venture Partners acts as an advisor to Kennet I LP, a Jersey limited partnership and to Kennet II LP, a Guernsey limited partnership. Kennet Venture Partners is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

For more information: www.kennet.com

About SVB Europe Advisors Limited

SVB Europe Advisors Limited is a subsidiary of Silicon Valley Bank that provides access to financial services, specifically debt financing, for U.K.-based high-growth technology companies and private equity firms. SVB Europe Advisors Limited also assists U.K.-based clients and prospects as they establish business connections and operations in the U.S., and vice versa.

Silicon Valley Bank provides diversified financial services to emerging growth and mature companies in the technology, life sciences and private equity markets, as well as the premium wine industry. Through its focus on specialized markets and extensive knowledge of the people and business issues driving them, Silicon Valley Bank provides a level of service and partnership that measurably impacts its clients’ success. Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., the company serves more than 9,500 clients across the country through 26 regional offices.

More information on the company can be found at www.svb.com