By Scott Wright
AN EDINBURGH-based manufacturer of golf technology and improvement products has raised £2.7 million of investment as it looks to replicate its UK presence in other countries around the world.
Shot Scope, which develops technology to help amateur players make better decisions on the course, has attracted £2.1m from Guinness Ventures as the lead investor in the Series A funding round. Guinness Ventures said it was impressed by the “deep understanding of golfers” displayed by the team at Shot Scope, which it said had produced “some incredible products”.
Scottish Investment Bank, Old College Capital – the in-house venture capital arm of the University of Edinburgh – and Edinburgh angel fund Equity Gap also took part in the round.
Shot Scope was founded in 2015 by software designer David Hunter and now has more than 100,000 users in 162 countries.
With a team of 25 based in the Scottish capital, its products include GPS watches, laser rangefinders, GPS handhelds and shot tracking devices. Its products are said to help golfers improve by 4.1 shots on average, improving golfers’ games in fewer than 25 rounds.
The company has mapped 36,000 golf courses around the world, which it is able to edit in response to layout changes because it owns the data. The Shot Scope app and dashboard provides more than 100 statistics in the golfer’s game, including club distances, approaches, short game, putting, scoring, handicap benchmarking and strokes gained.
Shot Scope said the capital investment and partnership with Guinness Ventures will allow it to build on its UK success and bring its game improvement technology to golfers around the world.
Mr Hunter said: “Six years ago, as a keen amateur golfer I realised that technology could enable players to make better decisions on the course. Since then, Shot Scope has grown from a start-up to an established market leader in GPS, laser rangefinder and digital on-course tracking. I am delighted that Guinness Ventures has partnered with Shot Scope.
“As market leader in the UK, our team wants to scale up global expansion so golfers around the world can experience the game-improving benefits of Shot Scope. The investment and partnership with Guinness Ventures will allow our team to focus on this growth and deliver our technology to golfers globally.”
Adam Barker, deal lead at Guinness Ventures said: “We were impressed by the management team and board’s depth and breadth of experience as well as their passion for golf. They’ve a proven track record for delivering both technology products and fast growth companies.”
“The Shot Scope team’s deep understanding of golfers and the golf market has resulted in some incredible products. We love the amazing range of great golf tech and are excited to be on the inside with a preview to the roadmap of products, software and features, that we can’t wait to see launched and change the game.”
Shop Scope was advised on the funding round by accountancy giant PwC. Ed Reid of PwC said: “We were delighted to advise Shot Scope for their Series A. Despite more challenging market conditions, Shot Scope has secured investment from investors who understand their market and mission to change the game of golf. We’re excited to watch their progress as they build a category-defining business.”
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