WorkCast Secures £850,000 Investment for Growth and Development

The WorkCast Corporation has secured an £850,000 investment round led by NorthStar Equity Investors (NSEI) to support the development of its cutting-edge technology and boost sales and marketing.

Running on WorkCast's unique webcasting platform, Webcast Manager allows users to create, edit, and distribute effective business webcasts from one solution. Customers can produce webcasts and webinars by recording a variety of elements such as web meetings, PowerPoint presentations, webcams and video conferences. The entire recording, including Audio, can then be utilised as a webcast that can be integrated into standard business processes and communications.

WorkCast Chief Executive, Gerard Callaghan, welcoming the investment said:

"This is a major vote of confidence from NSEI in our product and our company. In this recessionary time, to have successfully attracted such significant investment is a tribute to the work that has already been done and a huge boost for further growth and development. We look forward to working with our new partners as we go forward."

Michelle Cooper, Investment Manager, NSEI commented: "Our investment in WorkCast demonstrates our confidence in the management team and their ability to further develop their innovative solutions. Our Proof of Concept team saw the potential in WorkCast earlier this year and invested £60,000 initial seed funding. We are excited about WorkCast and their position within a rapidly growing industry sector, and with the introduction of their Webcast Manager solution, WorkCast is well positioned to be a significant player in the online business webcasting market".

About NorthStar Equity Investors

NorthStar has been backing science, technology and innovation-based companies across the region with funds from ONE North East and the European Regional Development Fund:

Proof of Concept Fund (POC)

POC investments are made between £60,000 and £90,000 and take the form of a convertible loan providing capital at the critical earliest stages of business creation to stimulate the growth of young companies and new technologies. Since 2004 the POC funds have invested £12.7m into 199 companies on behalf of ONE North East and the European Regional Development Fund. To date more than £24m has been raised by the POC portfolio in follow on funding from a range of equity investors including angels and institutional investors.

Since January 2009, 26 POC investments have been made into early stage opportunities such as Durham Mag Lev and Take Publishing.

Co-Investment Fund (CoIF)

Specialising in high growth technology investments between £100k and £1m, CoIF leads multimillion pound syndicated deals. Since 2005, the CoIF has invested £26m into 38 companies on behalf of ONE North East and the European Regional Development Fund. £41.5m has been invested alongside the CoIF on a deal by deal pari passu basis from a range of equity investors including angels, angel networks, corporates and global fund management companies.

Ten equity deals have been completed since January 2009 on behalf of CoIF, including amBX, MySapient and Vertical Wind Energy (VWE).

About The WorkCast Corporation

The WorkCast Corporation is a leading supplier of online webcasting solutions and services. The WorkCast Corporation is part of the Sunderland-based, Leighton Group, which has a long and successful history in the technology, software, new media and interactive communication industries. The Leighton Group has a strong portfolio of local, national and international clients such as British Airways, Sage, Adidas, Best Western, Toshiba and ITV.

WorkCast is based at the E-volve Business Centre at Rainton Bridge and was formed in 2008 by senior technology, sales and marketing executives from the IT industry. WorkCast has developed a business webcasting platform to meet the growing need for on-demand rich media content driven by the popularity of consumer services such as the BBC iPlayer.

Should you have any questions regarding our webcasting or web conferencing services please contact us.