Companies still using spreadsheets instead of Order & Inventory Management software are less productive. Addressing this, UK start-up Workhorse has developed affordable, user-friendly, adaptable software to help SMEs digitise and boost efficiency across the entire business – from purchasing, inventory, order fulfilment, billing and customer relationship management, to manufacturing.

The addressable market is estimated at around £1.8 billion in the UK alone. To help fund its growth Workhorse has recently closed a £1 million seed round from private investors under the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) including £600,000 from Wealth Club, the UK’s largest broker of tax-efficient investments who led the round.

Alex Davies of Wealth Club says: “Whilst there are plenty of decent systems of this kind for larger companies, many smaller companies which are the life blood of the economy are missing out on the efficiencies they can bring. Workhorse provides a credible and affordable solution and has the potential in our view to become a leading player in this market. With its potential for high recurring and sticky revenues, this could prove to be a very attractive investment for our clients.”

Dean Forbes, Chairman, Forbes Family Group and one of the private investors who, alongside Wealth Club invested in the round, says: “Small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of the UK economy. As a huge supporter of SMEs we invested in Workhorse because it provides a great tech solution for companies to improve their management of product stock in order to optimise cash flow and customer services.

“Stock or components sitting on shelves for long periods of time becomes a cash drain while under stock means it’s harder to meet customer expectations. Workhorse is solving that problem. I also loved the drive and approach of the firm’s CEO Alastair.  Investments of this nature are 50% the business and 50% the team and he was absolutely ‘backable’.”

Duane Jackson, another of the investors, best known for founding Kashflow says: “Workhorse is providing a great SaaS solution to a neglected area of the UK SME market. Its culture, that puts the customer first and helps them move seamlessly from spreadsheets to a scalable and reliable solution will be attractive to many businesses. Particularly as they adopt software to accelerate growth in our increasingly digital economy.”

Alastair Badman, Founder and CEO of Workhorse, says: “It is great to have the support of Wealth Club investors as well as Dean and Duane. The capital of Wealth Club and our other investors, coupled with the expertise of Dean and Duane puts us in a great position to accelerate the growth of Workhorse to over a 170 customers, delivering $1m Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) by May 2023.”