A BELFAST sports technology company has won a £250,000 investment to drive international growth.
Pitchbooking, based at Ormeau Baths, has secured an injection of funding from an investment round, led by local firm Aurient Ltd and backed by Techstart Ventures and Co-Fund NI, managed by Clarendon Fund Managers.
The round was completed by private investors across the UK and New York.
Pitchbooking is an online platform that provides greater access to sports facilities for the public while streamlining the facility owner’s internal processes.
The company launched last year with Oxford City Council as its first major customer, while a recent partnership with Goals has resulted in Pitchbooking offering services in over 50 locations across the UK.
The business, founded by life-long friends Fearghal Campbell, Chris McCann and Shea O’Hagan, who went to school together in Armagh, said the latest investment will support Pitchbooking’s growth ambitions in the UK and the rest of the world.
“With Pitchbooking, players can search thousands of facilities at the click of a button and complete their booking in less than a minute," Mr O'Hagan explained.
"Facility managers gain instant exposure to a wide sporting public and the ease of our simple, fully automated booking platform. We’ve seen that this encourages use of the facility, drives revenue to the facility owner, and ultimately, encourages more people to get active.”
Aurient Ltd partners Anthony Kieran and Cecil Hetherington will be joining the board of Pitchbooking as a result of the investment, with the latter becoming chairman.
“The Pitchbooking management team are 100 per cent focussed and dedicated to creating a better experience for both users and providers of sports facilities, and they are dynamic and innovative in their approach. This is exactly the sort of company that we like to support," Mr Hetherington added.
