Newcastle employee engagement platform secures £1.2m investment

Human resources platform Hive HR has secured £1.2m investment in a round led by SME finance provider Maven Capital Partners.

Founded in 2015, Hive HR specialises in employee engagement Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and has already worked with clients such as Hermes, Travelodge, River Island, as well as various NHS and public sector organisations.

The investment round saw Maven provide £350k to the company through its management of the North East Development Fund supported by European Regional Development, as well as Maven venture capital trusts.

Based in Newcastle city centre, Hive HR plans to use the funds to expand its team and invest in the development of its cloud-based platform to accommodate the growing demand for employee engagement propositions.

Alex Marsh, investment manager at Maven, explained: “The workplace is constantly evolving, and organisations must remain dynamic to ensure more than ever that they are keeping their employees happy, motivated and engaged.

“The Hive platform helps remove the additional burden this is creating for HR and leadership teams and is helping them respond better and more quickly to employee feedback to deliver initiatives and services to help retain and motivate staff in what is an increasingly competitive environment.”

Speaking about the investment, Alex commented: “John has built an impressive senior management team around him and we are delighted to support the business as it enters an exciting new phase of growth.”

John Ryder, managing director of Hive HR, added: “Hive has grown quickly in the last three years with very little capital. The whole team are now excited about what we will achieve with the additional backing from investors and are really pleased to welcome Maven as part of this round.”