eCommera Secures £5 Million in Second Round Funding

- The investment will enable eCommera to expand the services it offers to retailers who are seeking to improve their e-commerce capability -

21st September, 2009: eCommera, the UK-based provider of e-commerce services to the retail industry, has secured second round funding of £5 million from an investment group led by growth capital investor, Frog Capital and existing shareholder West Coast Capital. eCommera was advised by GP Bullhound.

Founded in 2007 by Michael Ross, online entrepreneur and founder of highly successful online fashion retailer Figleaves.com, and ex-BT marketing director, Andrew McGregor, eCommera helps large retailers such as Asda and House of Fraser to establish and run profitable online retail operations. The funding will be used to expand the company’s services and geographical reach.

eCommera’s CoreTrader service is an analytical dashboard that helps retailers understand what the drivers of profit and growth are in the highly competitive world of online commerce. The eCommera CoreCommerce Platform is an e-commerce trading platform, delivered over the internet that enables retailers to act on that insight and build a profitable ecommerce operation. Alongside the core technology platforms, eCommera also provides associated online retail consulting services via a team of e-commerce experts.

“In the early days businesses only had to be online to succeed, and sales increased year after year as more and more shoppers moved from the high-street to the Web, said Michael Ross, director and co-founder of eCommera. “Now, with more choice than ever for consumers, retailers need to understand how the dynamics of online retail differ in order to compete effectively and ensure that online operations are profitable and not just pretty Web-based shop windows. Even some very established and successful retailers are struggling to make that transition and are coming under increasing pressure.”

“Closing this second-funding round in an uncertain market is a considerable achievement,” said Andrew McGregor, CEO and co-founder of eCommera. “This demonstrates the soundness of our business model and proposition. Our ecommerce dashboard and enterprise class Software as a Service (SaaS) platform helps large global retailers to navigate to profit and growth without the distraction and high cost of managing technology. Just as retailers do not tend to own and build their own high street stores, so we believe the same model will emerge online.”

With its focus on delivering business insight and consultancy as well as the supporting technology, eCommera today serves over 20 major retailers, and has over 70 staff, many of whom are veterans from the e-commerce industry from companies like – Arcadia, Tesco, Fish 4, Dell and Harrods.

“eCommera has found a highly attractive sweet-spot. Ecommerce is now critical to retailers, and the eCommera service directly meets their needs. The front line ‘been there, done it’ experience of the eCommera team is unsurpassed in Europe,” say Mike Reid, managing partner at Frog Capital. “With several deal wins this year already, and more to come, this business has great momentum.”

“The company has performed very strongly since our original investment and is a great example of how a combination of industry expertise and technology innovation can deliver a compelling proposition to the retail market. A significant portion of our portfolio is in retail so eCommera is a great fit strategically,” said Paul Davidson, partner at West Coast Capital.

The shareholders of eCommera are West Coast Capital, Frog Capital, GP Bullhound and management.

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About eCommera

Founded in 2007 by Michael Ross, founder of Figleaves.com, and ex-BT marketing director, Andrew McGregor, eCommera is a UK-based provider of e-commerce services and consultancy to the retail industry. eCommera serves over 20 major retailers – including Asda, House of Fraser, Hamleys, Goldsmiths, Space NK and Flying Brands – and employs more than 70 people.

eCommera’s CoreTrader service is an analytical dashboard that helps retailers understand what the drivers of profit and growth are for their online commerce operations. The eCommera CoreCommerce Platform is an e-commerce trading platform, delivered as Software as a Service, that enables retailers to act on that insight and build profitable ecommerce operations. Alongside the core technology platforms, eCommera also provides associated online retail consulting services via a team of e-commerce experts.

For more information: www.ecommera.com

About Frog Capital

Frog Capital is a London-based investment partner to some of Europe’s most ambitious growth-stage companies. Frog invests across the cleantech and IT & digital media sectors, where disruptive forces are strong, leading or partnering in fundings of €2 million to €20 million expansion capital, minority purchases, management buy-outs, or acquisitions. Occasionally, Frog invests in quoted companies.

For more information: www.frogcapital.com

About West Coast Capital

West Coast Capital (”WCC”) is a private equity partnership investing in retail and property assets.

For more information: Stephen Smith, Harvard PR, Stephen.smith {at} harvard.co(.)uk, 0208 564 6325