Middlesbrough-based Animmersion plans to more than triple its turnover in the next five years, as part of its scale-up strategy.
The tech firm produces digital products such as Virtual & Augmented Reality, holograms, animations, apps and interactive marketing systems for businesses around the world. Having enjoyed ten years of mostly organic growth since launching in 2006, Animmersion is implementing a new focused growth strategy to develop its services. The company, which currently turns over just under a million pounds, also has plans to expand from a team of 18 to more than 30 during the next three years.
Dominic Lusardi, Managing Director of Animmersion said “Advances in technology and virtual reality has led to an acceptance that digital media is here to stay. This means that the opportunities we have as a business are growing dramatically and we want to scale-up to match those opportunities.”
Animmersion operates across a number of different sectors including engineering, subsea, manufacturing, offshore, healthcare, automotive and retail. By acquiring a multi-million pound turnover, the company aims to be a leading competitor in virtual reality training and sales, bringing new ways of viewing digital media through holograms and augmented reality.
The company is one of fifteen businesses taking part in the inaugural Entrepreneurs’ Forum Scale-up Leaders Academy, which is a 50-hour programme. Spread over 12 months, the Academy has been designed for business owners who are running high-growth companies and want to scale-up at a faster rate through the programme’s workshops, coaching, mentoring and learning sessions.
Animmersion has been using the academy’s support to identify a cost-effective frame work that allows the business to grow, without having to re-evaluate plans at every stage.
Of the Scale-up Academy, Dominic said, “We have always had ambitions to scale-up so we jumped at the opportunity to sign up to the Academy, and it’s definitely been working so far.
“It’s encouraging to be around like-minded individuals and I’ve learnt to separate what Animmersion does, with how it actually operates. More often than not a successful business strategy can be applied to any company, regardless of which field it operates in.
“Taking ideas from the programme as well as other business leaders, and practically applying them to the business, has definitely influenced growth in my opinion.”
Gillian Marshall, Chief Executive of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum added, “The very core of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum is to support the scale up ambitions of North East businesses. This is why we are delighted to have Animmersion in the Scale-up Academy, and why it is so pleasing to see the company’s confidence in its growth plans.”
“This kind of business growth is what many more North East entrepreneurs need to aim if we are to unlock the social economic and employment potential that scale-up can offer our region.”