FIFE software developer Paywizard, which specialises in subscriber management for pay television, has secured £3.5 million of finance from the Scottish Loan Fund.

Paywizard, which has a customer base including BT Sport, NBC Universal, Setanta Sports and NHK Cosmomedia Europe, plans to use the funding to capitalise on the growing pay TV and video-on-demand markets by rolling out its software and services internationally.

Paywizard announced a move into the Asia-Pacific region recently. And it plans to target emerging markets in Africa and South America.

The Kirkcaldy-based company is also appointing broadcast and digital media veteran Andrew Burke, whose career has included spells as chief executive of Amino Technologies and BT Entertainment, as chairman.

The taxpayer-backed Scottish Investment Bank (SIB) is the cornerstone investor in the Scottish Loan Fund, which is run by Glasgow-based private equity firm Maven Capital Partners. SIB is the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise.

Mr Burke will work with Paywizard's co-founders, Jonathan Guthrie and Ronnie Millar, to help pay-TV operators maximise the potential of their services through targeted subscriber management and marketing.

Paywizard and the Scottish Loan Fund noted that Mr Burke had “created and run BT Entertainment’s TV-over-broadband initiative BT Vision”.

Mr Guthrie, chief executive officer at Paywizard, said: “Our new investment, along with Andrew’s involvement, is a clear sign of confidence in Paywizard and in the role that advanced subscriber management has to play in the television market. With international deals in the pipeline, we are really showing operators how to build profitable pay-TV businesses.”

Mr Burke said: “In today’s television market, successful operators are focused on three key objectives - improving their bottom line, reaching new subscribers and retaining the customers they have. With 17 years’ experience in the pay-TV market, Paywizard’s knowledge and expertise is helping TV service providers of all sizes to meet...those objectives.”

David Milroy, investment director at Maven, said: “The Paywizard team has a strong track-record in the UK and, via its Agile platform, is well positioned to capitalise on consumers' increasing appetite for viewing video content on multiple devices. The experience and support of Andrew Burke will be of great value to the company as they target international expansion, and SLF funding will provide the necessary investment in marketing and personnel to achieve this. We are very much looking forward to working with the team.”