A Cornish software developer has secured a £150k loan to take its business to the next level with the support of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Investment Fund (CIOSIF).
Caterbook, based in Camelford in North Cornwall, is a cloud-based hotel management platform providing hotel owners and managers with a sophisticated solution for handling bookings, payments and much more.
Business owners, Chris and Sally Noon, gained their expertise in the sector whilst selling a third-party product for over ten years but, as they became increasingly frustrated by its limited functionality, took the decision to develop their own software solution for the industry.
Their platform automates and simplifies many of the repetitive daily tasks facing hotel managers, whilst providing an interactive dashboard, intuitive reporting and integrated payment system.
The £131,250 CIOSIF loan is complemented by a co-investment of £18,750 from SWIG Finance. The £40 million CIOSIF fund provides debt and equity finance from £25k to £2 million, to help growing small businesses across the region. It has been established by the British Business Bank in partnership with the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and is operated by appointed fund manager, The FSE Group.
While the impact of Covid-19 is undoubtedly taking its toll on the hotel industry across the region and beyond, the Noons believe it will provide an opportunity for managers to review their systems and practices and look to integrate new systems that can help strengthen their position for when we are through this current crisis.
Chris Noon said: “We want the industry to know that we are still here, working hard to provide them with a robust system that can save them time and money. The funding from CIOSIF will allow us to further develop our solution and ensure the platform continues to offer what our clients need. We are grateful to FSE and SWIG for their ongoing support at this challenging time.”
