Henley: HMT advises Semafone on £1.9m fundraising

HMT Corporate Finance, led by partner Andrew Thomson and manager Amish Bakhai, advised Semafone on its £1.9m fundraising from Octopus Ventures.

Based in London, Semafone was founded in 2009 by a consortium of call centre professionals, who were instrumental in the development of ‘Semafone', a fraud prevention software for use in call centres.

Semafone aims to secure sensitive data passed over the phone, including bank details, personal identification data and credit/debit card transactions. Without interrupting caller and agent dialogue, customers input their card details via the telephone keypad, eliminating the need to read out the card number and three digit security number to the phone operator, removing the risk of operator fraud.

In the last 12 months Semafone has secured valued customers such as the John Lewis Partnership, Specsavers and the Manchester Airports Group. The new investment from Octopus will accelerate the Company's growth in the UK and abroad, through investment in sales and marketing.

Tim Critchley, Semafone’s managing director, commented: “HMT’s assistance and support proved invaluable in achieving a successful completion, in what continues to be a challenging funding environment. Their knowledge of institutional funders, perseverance and hands on relationship allowed us to work effectively together to achieve the best possible deal for shareholders and management. We look forward to working with them in future.”

Andrew Thomson commented: “This transaction provides Semafone with the financial backing and all-round support it needs to deliver its ambitious growth plans and establish itself as a market leader. We wish Tim and his management team every success and look forward to working with them again as the business develops.”