A paperless receipt system that stores details of transactions electronically on the cloud has received a £1 million funding boost.
The Envestors network, a wholly- owned subsidiary of AIM-listed venture capitalist management group Braveheart Investment, raised £300,000 as part of London-based Paperless Receipts Ltd’s £1m second-round fundraising.
The move comes just over a year after Envestors which is a network of private individuals looking to invest in dynamic companies in need of growth capital ploughed £500,000 into the business.
PRL is behind the eReceipts system, which creates and collects transactional information from retailers’ point-of-sale units.
Those making a purchase using the system do not receive a physical paper receipt but receive proof of purchase electronically on their mobile or computer browser.
The system has been trialled in London in more than 110 independent stores, and PRL has recently signed up its first major multiple, furniture retailer DFS.
PRL said the technology was also being looked at by a processing firm representing more than 1,000 online retailers and was due to be rolled out by a large supermarket across its estate in April.
The eReceipts board is chaired by Lord Ian MacLaurin, former chief executive of Tesco and former chairman of Tesco and Vodafone.
PRL chief executive Andrew Carroll said the new cash would help support the company through a significant phase in its development as the system continued to gain traction in the marketplace.
He said: “This additional funding puts us on the front foot, enabling us to achieve the next stage of growth.”
“The fundraising ability and responsiveness of the Envestors team have been a great help to us, and we look forward to working with them again at our next round in 2013.”
Oliver Woolley, founder director of Envestors, said PRL had started to prove its technology.
He said members of the network were keen to get on board as the firm developed out the concept.
He added: “The PRL team have achieved each of their targets since we first raised money for them, and members of our network were keen to be involved in eReceipts a concept now turned into reality and one which might just prove to be a game-changer.”
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