A HRtech business which helps companies to benchmark themselves against competitors has raised £1.4m from the MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund, which is managed by Mercia and part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund, Mercia’s EIS funds, the Angel Co-Fund and private investors.

HR Datahub’s platform enables organisations to compare themselves to others in the same industry or same location on almost every aspect of their HR performance - including pay and benefits, retention and recruitment, employee engagement, and diversity and inclusion. Customers share their data which is aggregated by the platform and turned into industry insights to help make informed decisions.

The funding will enable the business, which is based in Houghton Conquest, near Bedford, to further enhance the platform and triple the size of its team from 10 to 30 in the next 18 months. HR Datahub was founded in 2018 by David Whitfield, who has held senior HR roles in the Post Office and Heathrow Airport. He was joined in 2021 by co-founder Alexa Grellet, who had worked in commercial roles in a number of tech start-ups.

It is now used by 160 organisations including Siemens, Euro Garages, EDF, Network Rail and Marks & Spencer and aims to increase customer numbers to over 500 within the next five years. Annual recurring revenue has been doubling each year and is currently over £650,000.

Alexa Grellet, COO, said: “The world of work has never been more complex, so it is important that organisations make decisions based on accurate data. At HR Datahub our mission is to give them the analysis and the insights they need. The funding will enable us to add a new level of sophistication to the platform and roll it out to an even wider audience.”

Stephen Windsor of Mercia said: “The use of data-driven intelligence has already revolutionised areas such as finance and sales and David and Alexa are now bringing this same approach to HR. HR Datahub offers labour market analysis without the expense of consultants or salary surveys. With upwards pressure on wages, HR DataHub could help organisations align pay and benefits more effectively with the market to improve employee retention and enable cost savings.”

Mark Wilcockson, Senior Investment Manager at the British Business Bank, said: “The MEIF Proof-of-Concept & Early Stage Fund aims to provide start-ups in the region with the right type of finance needed to fuel growth, and this funding will assist HR DataHub with the creation of new job roles for the Midlands to support this expansion. HR DataHub has been on a growth trajectory since it was founded through the success of its innovative solution for business leaders to benchmark themselves against competitors, working with global companies from its Midlands base.”

The Midlands Engine Investment Fund is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.