The Manchester-based software business has secured a £3m loan funding to support its growth and expansion plans.
Sorted is a delivery management platform that offers a variety of eCommerce services, such as tracking and analysing post-purchase performance. In recent years, the company has expanded rapidly and now provides services to a variety of UK retailers, including ASOS, M&S, Dunelm, and ASDA.
Shard Credit Partners, an alternative investment fund manager, has backed Sorted. It marks the fourth investment from Shard’s UK tech-focused venture debt fund, which is targeting a final close at £75m by Q2 2023, with a hard cap of £100m.
In June 2022, Shard Credit Partners held the first close of its inaugural venture debt fund. In the coming months, several high-profile institutional investors are expected to commit to the fund.
William Chappel, head of venture debt at Shard Credit Partners, said: “We are delighted to be providing finance to support Sorted. We have been tracking this name since 2018 and have been hugely impressed by how the business has flourished since that time. We can’t wait to work closer with its CEO, Carmen Carey, and the wider team as the business continues to expand.
“This is a strong addition to our UK technology-focused venture debt fund, and a key example of our focus on our meaningful approach to ESG, in particular, supporting female led businesses across all regions of the UK.”
Carmen Carey, chief executive of Sorted, added: “Customers are now expecting – and demanding – faultless delivery and returns experiences as standard, regardless of whether they order from a large multinational brand or a small business. In turn, the next stage in Sorted’s journey is set to provide the SMB market with exceptional delivery and returns capabilities.
“This latest round of funding will help drive Sorted’s vision, enabling seamless experiences for customers globally, especially as we begin to enter the US market.”
Alastair Brown, chief executive of Shard Credit Partners, said: “Since launching the new venture debt fund in June, our first close investors have continued to enjoy rapid deployment, with a fourth investment now completed.
“Will and his team continue to maintain a robust pipeline of high-quality investments that will ensure the fund remains significantly invested, even as we grow our assets under management with subsequent fund closes through the remainder of 2022.”
Sorted was supported by Phil Tarimo from the Dow Schofield Watts Debt Advisory team.
Dow Schofield Watts’ Midlands office has advised JPS Projects, a leading provider of specialist retrofit services with operations in Manchester, Chesterfield and Hemel Hempstead, on its private equity investment from Cordovan Capital Management.
