Manchester tech startup Twine raises £400k in latest investment round

The founders of Manchester-based startup Twine, an online platform that connects companies to creative freelancers, have raised £400k in their latest investment round.

Technology entrepreneurs, Stuart Logan and Damien Shiells, have secured investment from Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and angel investors Herb Kim, Chris Mairs and Stephen Pankhurst.

Twine is a creative marketplace that connects companies to a network of over 195,000 freelance graphic designers, animators, musicians and filmmakers.

Creative freelancers can build a portfolio on Twine, find paid work and connect with other creatives to collaborate with from all over the world.

Stuart Logan, Twine’s CEO, said: “We are very excited to continue our growth with this investment round. The northern startup community is booming and we are proud to be a part of it.

“The potential market for Twine is huge. There are 52m small and medium sized companies in Europe and the US. They spend £24k per year on marketing, 32% of which is spent on content marketing. This means around £400bn is spent on content marketing per year. We want to help companies create the content they need.”

Councillor Kieran Quinn, GMCA lead member for investment and finance, added: “It would have been foolish of the GMCA not to take the opportunity to invest in Twine.

“As a creative network for almost 200,000 professionals it is a key organisation that will help us to meet our ambitions to grow the digital economy in the region and provide the high-skilled, highly-paid jobs that we need to ensure that Greater Manchester prospers.”

Herb Kim, founder of tech conference Thinking Digital Conference and Executive Chairman of Tech North, also commented: “My decision to invest in Twine was driven by my belief in Stuart Logan’s integrity and ability, and do I think Twine are fulfilling a real need with a compelling solution? My answer is a resounding yes.”

At the end of 2015, the startup had raised £350k from angels and VCs including Seedcamp, AXM and Creative England. With this recent investment, this brings the total amount raised to over £900k.

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