Cork-based Screen Dragon has secured a €25 million investment round to drive expansion of its business and workforce in Ireland. The funding round was led by international growth firm Kennett Partners and targets so-called bootstrapped companies that typically have little outside investment, alongside Federated Hermes Private Equity. The company has invested between 10 million and 30 million euros.
Screendragon is a Software-as-a-Service-based workflow automation company that works with agencies and marketing departments to automate complex workflows and connect distributed teams to efficiently plan, create, and deliver content. We support you.
Founders John Briggs, Jan Quant and Fergus Ash will remain at the top of the company, with executive chairman Clive Sirkin taking on the role of new board chairman. Cillian Hilliard, Kennet Director, Michael Elias, Kennet Managing Director, and Fidel Manolopoulos, Partner and Co-Head of EMEA Investments at Federated Hermes Private Equity, will also join Screendragon’s board, with an independent director to be appointed shortly. It’s planned.
“Jan, Fergus, Clive and I spent several months vetting several investment companies for potential investments,” said John Briggs, co-CEO and founder of Screen Dragon. Ta. “Kennet Partners has a proven track record of growing successful businesses. We look forward to continuing to deliver the technology and support our existing customers expect.”
A portion of the funds raised will be used to strengthen the company’s Irish operations, doubling the headcount in its Cork operation, which currently has a team of 60 people. However, some of the company’s future plans include a greater focus on the US market, where the company is already building a business.
“The great thing about Screen Dragon is that 50 per cent of our revenue already comes from the US and we sell everything remotely from Ireland,” Mr Hilliard said. “So we feel like we can build a team there and continue to grow it.”
Screendragon is Kennet’s first Irish investment, with around €17 million invested in the Cork company. The international investor also brings knowledge, connections, and investment to his SaaS company with growth potential.
“We have a concentrated portfolio of 10 to 15 investments,” Hilliard said. “We engage with all companies, we bring in teams that have worked with us before, we sit on boards, we bring in some independent board members, we bring in some real experts.”
Previous investments include Jiminy, Nudge and Plover Testing, but Mr Hilliard said the company would like to make further investments in Ireland from the fund. “It’s a bellwether,” Hilliard said. “We are very focused on Ireland.”