£150,000 Injection for Matrix

MATRIX Service Hosting, the online accountancy software company, has won £150,000 in first-round funding from a group of private investors.

Stag Holdings & Investments, which describes itself as a group of "pre-angel" investors from the west of Scotland, has taken a 25% stake in Matrix.

The Renfrewshire company will use the cash to step up its marketing efforts and develop new products including a mobile phone system which will warn directors of small companies when their businesses are in trouble.

Matrix was set up at the end of last year by Robert Yarr, a former senior European management consultant with Ernst & Young.

He said: "This will allow us to exploit the position we have built up with accountancy firms and help them increase the sales they can command."

Matrix, which is based at the Hillington Innovation Centre, was a founder member of the MX Alliance, a trade association set up by young Scottish wireless technology companies.

Mr Yarr plans to integrate accounting software with mobile alert systems.

The company adapts software and hardware from multinationals such as Compaq for accountants and their small and medium-sized clients.

It received a boost recently when its online accounting system became the first of its kind to be approved by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.

Part of the £150,000 (€240,000) investment will be used to boost the company's profile south of the border.

Matrix's main US partner company, Navision, was bought by Microsoft in May for £850m, increasing the amount that could be invested in product development. Navision's Axapta software is seen as a low-cost, high speed alternative to competitors such as SAP.

douglas.friedli@businessam.co.uk