Funding will enable rapid roll-out of QikServe’s innovative software platform across the hospitality sector
- QikServe’s platform addresses increasing demand for self-service technology – helps hospitality sector satisfy millennials’ demand for mobile solutions
- Software platform is fully-integrated into world-leading EPOS provider Oracle
- QikServe’s technology delivers an uplift in spend per head of between 50% and 73%.
- Business targeted at multi-chain restaurants and cafes.
Maven Capital Partners (“Maven”), one of the UK’s most active private equity houses, has led a £2.7 million (US$3.4 million) investment in QikServe Limited (“QikServe”), which has developed a patented B2B cloud-based platform aimed at hospitality operators, enabling customers to order and pay for items from a smartphone, tablet or self-service terminal.
Founded in 2011 by entrepreneurs Daniel Rodgers and Ronnie Forbes, QikServe’s software has undergone a number of years of investment and development and more recently successful pilot schemes have led to contracts secured with a number of global hospitality businesses. Today’s funding, which includes a £2 million investment from Maven, alongside £700,000 of additional backing from existing investors, Par Equity, Equity Gap and Scottish Enterprise, will support the global roll-out of QikServe’s innovative platform, including major expansion into the United States, growing the firm’s workforce in key areas, and supporting channel partners.
QikServe’s platform enables customers to discover restaurants, check-in to tables, browse menus, place orders, save and redeem loyalty points or vouchers, and pay their bill directly from their mobile phone or tablet. The platform targets the increasing consumer adoption of mobile solutions and also brings significant advantages to restaurants by improving efficiencies, reducing labour costs, and increasing average spend; QikServe’s pilot schemes have seen an uplift in spend per head of between 50% and 73%.
Edinburgh-based QikServe is the only accredited mobile ordering system that is fully integrated with a world-leading EPOS provider, Oracle Hospitality, and provides QikServe with access to over 330,000 accounts across 180 countries. Its software offers Oracle’s multi-site operators a quick and cost-effective solution for deploying a self-service model across large estates. The technology can be seamlessly built into existing back-end systems, with the platform able to be configured remotely with no additional hardware or software required in the premises.
Daniel Rodgers, CEO at QikServe, said: “A dramatic global shift in hospitality economics is resulting in increased uptake of digital self-service technology. Mobile ordering and payments are now pressing concerns for businesses across the global hospitality sector as they seek to improve service, reduce costs and meet the expectations of the modern consumer. We are already working closely with billion-dollar hospitality companies and this funding, combined with our Oracle integration, will accelerate our global footprint, strengthening our position at the forefront of enterprise solutions for hospitality. We are delighted to welcome Maven to the QikServe team and look forward to working with them to help transform hospitality for today’s digital society.”
David Milroy, Investment Director at Maven, added: “We are looking forward to working with Dan, Ronnie and the team. We have been hugely impressed by the functionality and capability of the QikServe platform and believe that the technology offers a differentiated service to hospitality clients who are keen to realise the potential self-service offers in terms of increasing order value and reducing costs. The hospitality market needs to adapt in the same way that the wider retail market has responded to evolving consumer habits. With Millennials in particular demanding mobile solutions there is a clear need for the hospitality sector to embrace technology. The hard work and efforts of the QikServe team over a number of years have put them at the leading edge of their market and once again it is great to see another exciting technology business originating out of Edinburgh which is capable of satisfying a global market.”
The investment in QikServe represents Maven’s sixth Venture Capital Trust transaction and in total its 12th Private Equity investment in the past year.
Maven was advised by Burness Paull on the transaction.
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About Maven Capital Partners UK LLP www.mavencp.com
Maven Capital Partners UK LLP (Maven) is a lower-mid cap private equity house focused on the provision of growth capital and mezzanine finance to SMEs across the UK. It is one of the most active private equity fund managers in the country, managing over £400 million of assets for a variety of client funds, including Venture Capital Trusts, the Scottish Loan Fund, the Greater Manchester Loan Fund, and Maven Investor Partners – a syndicate of institutional, family office and experienced investors.
Headquartered in Glasgow, and with five other offices throughout the UK, Maven has nationwide coverage of the market for SME finance and is introduced to around 400 deals per year through 20 regionally based investment executives. With around 50 staff and partners, Maven executes a range of private company transactions, offers hands-on proactive portfolio management to investee companies and provides a fully integrated back-office support function to client and third party fund managers. Since 2009 Maven has invested over £250 million in SMEs across the UK.
About QikServe
QikServe’s patented technology allows hospitality operators to provide the ability to order and pay for food and drinks directly from any device. Using QikServe, guests can use mobile devices to order exactly what they want, when they want it. QikServe is available as a standalone, customer-branded app or can be fully integrated into hospitality operators’ existing mobile apps and POS platforms. It makes use of technologies such as in-store beacons or QR codes to alert customers to download and use the app. Once logged into the application, guests can open their check, add to their order, customize meals or room-service orders and pay for them from within the app. With Gold Partner status in Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), QikServe is fully integrated into Oracle Hospitality’s Point of Sale (POS) platform; therefore customers who use Oracle’s POS solution can quickly deploy a fully-branded mobile order and payment service for their diners. www.qikserve.com
About Oracle PartnerNetwork
Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) is Oracle’s partner program that provides partners with a differentiated advantage to develop, sell and implement Oracle solutions. OPN offers resources to train and support specialized knowledge of Oracle’s products and solutions and has evolved to recognize Oracle’s growing product portfolio, partner base and business opportunity. Key to the latest enhancements to OPN is the ability for partners to be recognized and rewarded for their investment in Oracle Cloud. Partners engaging with Oracle will be able to differentiate their Oracle Cloud expertise and success with customers through the OPN Cloud program – an innovative program that complements existing OPN program levels with tiers of recognition and progressive benefits for partners working with Oracle Cloud. To find out more visit: http://www.oracle.com/partners.
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