Vend raises $8 million from new and existing NZ and Australian investors
Auckland, New Zealand, 15 May 2013 Vend, the online point of sale software company, has raised NZ$8 million of new capital, with half of the funds committed
from new investors in New Zealand and Australia.
New investors from New Zealand include The Milford Active Growth Fund and The Milford KiwiSaver Active Growth Fund, both
managed by Brian Gaynor. A third of new funds raised have come from Australian investors, including Mr. Craig Winkler,
MYOB founder and Mr. Paul Bassett and Mr. Matt Rockman, co-founders of Seek.com.au.
Launched in late 2010, Vend powers 6500 stores in over 100 countries. The company raised NZ$3 million between their
first two capital rounds in 2011 and 2012, with this round being sought to further invest in the product and expand
operations in New Zealand, Australia and the U.S.
Brooke Bone, Senior Analyst at Milford Asset Management said he was pleased to be backing Vend, a fast growing local
tech company. “'Vend is an young exciting cloud based business with a strong management team and significant future
growth potential. We are actively looking for investments in established businesses with the ability to deliver high
growth rates."
Mr. Winkler, also an investor in cloud based software company Xero, sees a huge opportunity for Vend. “Most of the best
innovation in business software today is happening in the move to the cloud. Vend is at the forefront of that move, with
tools to help literally millions of small and medium retail businesses serve their customers more efficiently. Given
that Vend has excellent technology and a strong team combined with a drive to help retail businesses shine, it’s a great
investment.”
Further investment has also been secured from the founders of NZ Jobs, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, Mr. Rowan Simpson, Mr. Lance
Wiggs and Mr. Miki Szikszai. Point 9 Capital from Berlin has also reinvested.
“We’re delighted to secure this second round of funding, not only from our existing investors, but from our new
partners, which reflects our growing success in Australia. We are focused on significantly expanding our operations in
Melbourne and San Francisco and achieving our goal to be the POS platform of choice for small businesses worldwide,”
said Mr. Vaughan Rowsell, CEO and founder, Vend.
Vend opened its first Australian office in Melbourne earlier this year, and has an office in San Francisco.
ENDS