International digital data experts and technology start-up incubator Clicksco Group, which has an office in Wynyard, has made a key appointment to its board. John Townsend, who has earned an impressive reputation in the UK’s finance and investment sector over the past 40 years, will be joining the organisation as a non-executive director in a transaction valuing the Group at over $60m.
Established in 2009, Dubai-headquartered Clicksco Group employs over 200 people from operations in 14 countries, including 30 people at its Teesside office. Townsend, from Cambridge-based Chord Capital, has nurtured a solid relationship with Clicksco, following its acquisition of data company IDM in 2012, in which Chord Capital was a shareholder.
Joining as the company’s first non-employee shareholder, Townsend’s expert knowledge of the global financial industry and the inner workings of the sector made him the ideal choice for Clicksco.
The Group, which has enjoyed year-on-year growth of 73% for the past three years, will be drawing on Townsend’s expertise to further accelerate their ambitious plans. Following the IDM acquisition, big data has become a core component of the Group’s business. Today it is globally renowned for its customer lead generation, web search, comparison shopping and affiliate marketing services, working alongside partners including Google, Yahoo and Amazon.
As an investor, it also supports high-growth technology start-ups through a number of funds including TwentyThreeMiles, a North East firm which provides business support, advice and funding plus incubator space, from Clicksco’s Wynyard offices.
John Rowe, chairman and CEO of The Clicksco Group, has extensive experience in the finance, supply chain and retail markets, including five years spent as a director for Sainsbury’s. He explains: “The Clicksco Group is maturing and we felt now was an appropriate time to introduce a new board member into the business who was like-minded yet could give an honest and unbiased perspective on the company’s direction and aspirations.
“Whilst the Group has enjoyed phenomenal growth over the past three years, we are still a relatively young organisation and in this fast-changing technology industry, bringing in a financial heavyweight of John’s calibre will set us in good stead when making future investment choices for our funds, services and the Group as a whole.”
Commenting on the appointment, Townsend said: “Clicksco has become extremely powerful in the area of mining, understanding and manipulating big data and as such the brand’s reach across geographical and sector-specific audiences is rapidly growing. I feel I am joining the organisation at a perfect time to help substantiate the Group’s positioning in the finance sector too.”