Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Management buy-out for Dundee tech firm behind ‘couch to 5k’ app

The chief executive said he plans to double the size of the firm.

Insights chief executive Andy Lothian with Vidatec managing director Ross Wilson. Image: Vidatec
Insights chief executive Andy Lothian with Vidatec managing director Ross Wilson. Image: Vidatec

The managing director of Dundee technology firm Vidatec has completed a management buy-out.

Vidatec specialises in creating digital products for the health and wellbeing, tourism and sustainability sectors.

Among its previous projects is developing the ‘couch to 5k’ app, which has been downloaded millions of times.

The company has been owned by the Insights Group for the past seven years.

Ross Wilson, who has and been Vidatec managing director since last year, has led a buy-out from Insights, which will retain a minority shareholding.

Vidatec management buy-out

Mr Wilson said being independent will allow the business, which has 16 staff, to be more agile.

He said: “Vidatec has had many success stories. We have also developed an app for the NHS to help tackle obesity in children.

“We are also looking to grow in the sustainability space with this sort of habit forming behaviour.

Vidatec is based at Innovation House at Dundee Technology Park.

“Since taking over as chief executive I’ve been talking with Insights about what’s best for Vidatec and best for them.

“A lot of the sectors we are targeting are a little different from Insights.

“This is an exciting time as we look to unlock new opportunities for the company’s future growth and to explore the untapped potential outside of, but connected to, The Insights Group structure.”

Vidatec plans to add staff

Vidatec was founded in Stirling as Dogfish Mobile in 2011. Following the multi-million-pound Insights acquisition it rebranded as Vidatec in 2018 and relocated to Dundee in 2021.

Other clients include Value Retail, Heineken, TUI and Insights itself.

Mr Wilson said he would like to double the company’s turnover – which currently sits around £1.8 million – in the next two years.

This will involve increasing the company’s workforce. Vidatec will retain its office within the Insights building at Innovation House in the short-term.

He adds: “We remain committed to our clients and employees and look forward to focussing on our next chapter.

“Our purpose is improving people’s experience of life and making a positive impact on the world through technology.”

Insights Group chief executive Andy Lothian said: “Vidatec has been an important part of The Insights Group for many years.

“We are delighted to support Ross and the Vidatec team during this new chapter.

“With their outstanding proposition and the experience and skills of the team, I know they will continue to deliver valuable and impactful digital solutions and break new ground in this exciting time of digital innovation.”

Conversation