A COMPUTING firm is set to expand its presence in overseas markets following a £150,000 shot in the arm.
Cramlington-based RefurbThat.com which buys and refurbishes bulk lots of computing equipment, has secured the six-figure sum from the Finance For Business North East Growth Fund administered by NEL Fund Managers.
The funding will help support the firm’s development plans and provide the flexibility required to make new purchases as and when opportunities arise.
RefurbThat.com is one of only five Microsoft-authorised refurbishers in the whole of the UK, and primarily resells desktop and laptop computers.
But it also offers other refurbished computing equipment, including servers and screens.
Sales have been growing steadily in recent months, with shipments of several hundred pieces at a time now being regularly received at the company’s Cramlington headquarters from sources as far afield as France, Germany and the US.
Originally set up in 2005 as an IT services provider, the company refocused its business model last year to concentrate on the sustainable computing market.
Managing director Mark Harrison said: “Revitalising the equipment that we purchase makes sense from an environmental sustainability point of view, as well as from a commercial viewpoint, and we believe we’ve only just started to realise the business’s potential.
“As the numbers of items in the lots that we buy has grown, the amount of money needed to pay for them all has done the same, and we have to be in a position to secure deals quickly if we’re to get the equipment we want at the right price.”
Aimed at regional businesses which are at a development and growth stage, the Growth Fund forms part of the wider Finance for Business North East Fund. Jane Siddle, investment executive at NEL Fund Managers, said: “The RefurbThat.com management team has very quickly secured a strong position in a lucrative specialist market and now has the financial flexibility required to support its further commercial development.”
The firm was advised by law firm Sintons during the investment process, and Tait Walker acted as the company’s accountants.
