Newcastle sports scientists raise seven-figure funding to develop wellbeing app

Two sports scientists who have developed an employee wellbeing and performance app have secured a further £1m from North East Venture Fund, supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Mercia.

This latest investment will enable Dr Phill Bell and Dr Paul Smith to further enhance their One Wellbeing mobile app and create around 10 new jobs in their Newcastle based company, ART Health Solutions.

One Wellbeing anonymously assesses employees’ health and wellbeing by bringing together data from their smartphones and fitness trackers, cognitive performance tests and factors such as working environment, location and schedules.

It then provides tailored content to address individuals’ specific needs, while also providing employers with aggregated data insights to help them improve the workplace experience for staff.

Dr Bell and Dr Smith started their career working with elite athletes such as Chris Froome, Rory McIlroy, Jensen Button and the England rugby team. They founded ART Health in 2018 to carry out consultancy work with corporate clients such as GSK, JLL, Haworth and Cricket Scotland, and developed a range of tools to enable them to collect data remotely.

One Wellbeing is a standalone app that enables companies to drive efficiency and optimise the health of employees. The latest funding round follows an initial £800k investment in January 2022 to enable the company to develop the product and carry out initial trials.

Dr Phill Bell, CEO at ART Health Solutions, commented: “We’re absolutely delighted that Mercia and the North East Venture Fund have backed up their initial funding round with this further injection of capital, demonstrating their commitment to us as a business and their confidence in our ability to deliver both shareholder and client value.

“Ultimately the extra capital will support the business in scaling our products throughout the UK and beyond.”

Kevin McDonnell, non-executive chair at ART Health Solutions, added: “This significant investment demonstrates the growing recognition of the importance of employee wellbeing and its impact on overall business performance.

“We are thrilled to have the continued support of Mercia in helping us expand our reach, and ultimately fostering healthier, happier, and more productive workplaces.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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