Newcastle tech firm Partnerize raises $9m to ‘expand technological lead’

A Newcastle-headquartered marketing software company with offices in London and San Francisco has raised a seven-figure investment.

The $9m (c.£6.91m) round, led by tech-focused investor GP Bullhound, will see Partnerize expand its sales and marketing operation.

The company will also use the funding to grow and develop a global partner ecosystem centered on its SaaS marketing platform.

Mal Cowley, Partnerize’s co-founder and CEO, said: “GP Bullhound has been a great advocate for us over the years and they share our belief in the potential for partnerships at global scale.

“This additional funding enables us to invest aggressively in our platform, further expanding our technological lead, as we make partnerships a central component of every marketer’s strategy.”

He added: “It also enables us to invest in acquiring more clients, which in turn adds new partner relationships.”

London-based GP Bullhound’s tech portfolio includes music streaming platform Spotify, communications tool Slack, computer game engine Unity and online business network Tradeshift.

Hugh Campbell, co-founder and managing partner of GP Bullhound, commented: “We are excited to back Partnerize in its next stage of growth.

“Having known Mal and the team for many years, we have seen the business going from strength to strength.”

He continued: “The company was able to build a strong moat on the back of a long list of blue-chip customers who have on-boarded their partners onto the platform and are now in direct control of their own marketing campaigns.”

Partnerize was founded in 2010 and today employs more than 200 people across eight offices. Its ecosystem has grown to encompass over 325,000 businesses, including more than 300 global brands.