Successful sale for Bath based company
June 15th 2011 – The SETsquared partnership has announced that one of the companies it has supported, Fitronics, has completed a successful sale of the business.
Based in Bath, Fitronics Ltd is a leading supplier to customers for the leisure industry, and provides solutions, processes and training packages to improve customer experience and loyalty. It has 400 customers around the world, including Fitness First, Holmes Place and Reebok Sports Club.
The company was started by Alister Rollins in his final year of a Mech Eng degree at the University of Bath. SETsquared provided mentoring, financial support and offices for the company at its Business Acceleration Centre in Bath.
In 2002, when Rollins was only 20, the company won the SETsquared business plan competition prize of £5,000. Since then, it has attracted funds from the University Enterprise Development Fund, bank funding and investment from the Sulis Seedcorn Fund. It also attended SETsquared’s annual Investment Showcase event, which provides a platform for early-stage businesses to meet potential investors.
“Without the support from SETsquared and the University of Bath’s Innovation Centre, we would not have been able to grow so quickly and profitably,” said Alister Rollins, Founder of Fitronics.
Simon Bond, Centre Director at SETsquared, said: “I’m delighted that Alister and his team have been so successful, and this profitable exit for a start-up is testament to the ability of SETsquared and the University of Bath to help early-stage businesses develop and grow.”
SETsquared is the enterprise collaboration between five universities: Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey. It supports new businesses – both university spin-outs and from the wider community – through its business incubation and acceleration centres, as well as supporting student entrepreneurship. Over the last five years, it has supported around 650 companies and raised nearly £0.75bn in capital.
About the SETsquared Partnership
The SETsquared Partnership (www.setsquared.co.uk) is the enterprise collaboration of the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey. Together, the universities employ 7,400 academic staff; earn nearly 10% of the UK’s higher education research budget; and produce 11% of all UK university patents.
The partnership has a 10-year track record of supporting companies through its business acceleration centres, which provide access to industry specialists, investors and experienced entrepreneurs. SETsquared currently supports over 250 early stage high-tech, high growth potential businesses, and 88% of its incubated companies are still in business three years on. In the past five years, nearly £0.75bn in investment funding has been raised by spin outs and incubated companies and more than 1,000 jobs created.
