SIGMA CAPITAL GROUP PLC
Further £2m investment round for DEM Solutions Limited (“DEM Solutions”)
Sigma Technology Venture Fund, a fund managed by Sigma Technology Management Limited (“Sigma”), is pleased to announce the completion of a £2m funding round into DEM Solutions, a leading provider of computer aided engineering software for the modeling of particles in industrial processes. Sigma led a previous investment of £1m into DEM Solutions in July 2005 and has seen the company make significant progress since that time including a tripling of sales over the last year.
As well as the continued participation of Scottish Enterprise (acting through the Scottish Co-investment Fund), Sigma is delighted to be joined at this round by NewMedia SPARK plc who invested £1.7m. The investment proceeds will be used to further expand the sales and marketing resource and support the development of new software releases.
Founded in 2003 by Dr John Favier, DEM Solutions has quickly become the leading provider of ‘discrete element’ modelling tools for industrial processes. Used in a wide range of industries such as pharmaceutical, chemical, mining, oil & gas, energy, agriculture and food processing, in which over 70% of processes involve particles (rocks, sand, coal, pharmaceuticals etc), DEM Solutions’ software (“EDEM”) reduces the need for expensive prototyping, and helps improve process efficiency and save energy.
The first version of DEM’s software was launched in October 2005, since which time the company has sold to many of the world’s leading companies across a broad range of industrial sectors including space, (NASA), manufacturing & agriculture (John Deere) and asphalt/minerals handling (Astec Industries). In addition, DEM software has been adopted by world leading industrial research groups at universities such as the University of Cape Town and University of Queensland.
Mark Hogarth, Investment Director of Sigma, who joined the DEM Solutions’ Board as a non-executive director at the time of Sigma’s first investment, will continue in this role.
ENDS
ENQUIRIES:
Sigma Capital Group plc
Mark Hogarth, Investment Director
Tel: 0131 220 9444
Buchanan Communications
Diane Stewart/Isabel Podda
Tel: 020 7466 5000