30th June 2022
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A Sheffield company which provides advanced ‘nurse call’ systems for care homes has secured an £850,000 investment from Traditum Private Equity and NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF).
This latest round of funding will enable Arquella to expand its sales and marketing team and target the growing residential care home market across the UK and Europe. Arquella provides its cloud-based advanced nurse call system for adult social care services under the brand AIDA. The proprietary system encompasses app-based and hand-held devices which aggregate data to provide carers with real-time information on their residents’ needs, maximizing the time they spend with residents and improving care quality.
This unique technology provides an efficient management system for care home teams to not only create and deliver planned care but to also accurately record and continually monitor reactive care in real time. Using AIDA, carers are requested to specify the type of care provided at the time of delivery, recording key information which reduces administration and enables care teams to optimise response times, manage resource requirements and record care in line with Care Quality Commission standards.
The cloud-based system can be provided on a subscription model, reducing costs and enabling care services of all sizes to benefit from evolving digital technology. Arquella’s software integrates with the sector’s leading care management software providers and with existing hardware infrastructure to provide real time reporting that is transformative for a fast-growing care sector which is under considerable resource pressure.
Founded in 2017, Arquella received an initial £350,000 investment from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance in 2020 to enable it to further develop the technology. The platform is currently used in 26 care homes with over 869 care beds.
There are currently 480,000 care beds in the UK and 3.8 million in Europe, with both figures set to rise significantly in line with the ageing population.
Steven Holmes, Commercial Director at Arquella, said: “We’re extremely pleased to receive further investment from Mercia, with whom we have always enjoyed a strong and supportive relationship, and we’re very excited about our new partnership with Traditum. To have our progress and vision recognised and bought into by an investor with so much experience in the healthcare technology space is a huge compliment.”
The investment in Arquella is the first from Traditum’s dedicated health technology team.
Iain Marlow, Head of Investments at Traditum, said: “The management team of Arquella have created a truly differentiated system which is able to provide greater oversight and effective management of care to residential and domiciliary patients. We are pleased to be joining the business at this exciting stage of development and look forward to supporting the business to improve patient care.”
Dan Thomas, Investment Manager at Mercia, said: “Care homes are a fast-growing market but the sector still relies largely on old-style technology. Arquella’s next-generation systems offer huge potential to reduce the burden on carers and use data to improve safeguarding and efficiency. Having supported the company since 2020, we are delighted to welcome Traditum as a new investor to help the business to scale up more quickly.”
Sean Hutchinson at British Business Bank, said: “The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund is pleased to have supported a company providing a crucial digital offering to the care sector. The positive impact it has for its customers is something that NPIF is proud to be a part of, and we look forward to seeing how the latest investment will take them to the next level in their growth journey.”
Mick Morris of Compellor provided fundraising advice to Arquella on the latest investment. Andrew O’Mahony and Daniel Hayhurst of Brabners provided legal advice to Traditum. Jim Gribbon and Andy Sims of Venture Axis provided software diligence advice to Traditum.
The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.
NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance provides funding from £100,000 to £2m for businesses in a variety of sectors, with a focus on Yorkshire, Humber and Tees Valley.
Enterprise Ventures Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 183363). EV Business Loans Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 443560).
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