About HikeSEO

Hike SEO is a Leicestershire-based scaleup founded in 2017 which aims to disrupt search engine marketing for small businesses with a platform that enables them to run their own Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) campaigns and improve visibility on Google.

The company has also recently introduced tools aimed at smaller digital agencies, allowing them to deliver SEO services as an additional value-add service to their clients. Currently, it has around 20,000 individual users.

The challenge

Hike needed funding to “get us to the next stage”, says co-founder and CEO Andy Allen. “We had an investment round 18 months ago; those funds were used to further enhance our platform. We then needed funds to promote the new version of our products and drive home the message that we are first-to-market with an AI-driven platform that demystifies search engine marketing for SMEs, so they don’t have to hire experts to do this sort of thing.”

It was DSW, the early-stage venture capital investment firm which led the previous fund raise, who suggested Hike should talk to NatWest about an IP-backed loan. Andy observes: “We’re thrilled that Hike has secured this IP-backed loan from NatWest, which is crucial in helping us accelerate the development of our AI-driven automated marketing platform tailored specifically for small businesses. Over the next 12 months, this funding will enable us to launch significant new features and expand our product offering, allowing us to further build on and expand our existing IP asset base. Importantly, this loan allows us to achieve this growth without further diluting equity for existing shareholders.”

The NatWest High Growth IP-backed loan was launched in January 2024 in partnership with IP evaluation experts Inngot. Loans for IP-rich scaleup SMEs start from as low as £250,000 and go up to £10m.

Loans are secured against up to 50% of the value of the firm’s qualifying intangible assets, as determined by Inngot’s sophisticated IP identification and valuation toolkit. The IP-backed loan targets growth companies which are rich in intangible assets, but have few tangible assets, making it difficult for them to get traditional lending from banks. Software, patents, copyrights, trademarks, registered designs and other intangibles can be valued and used as collateral.

The solution

The user interface for Inngot’s tools was clean and it was fairly easy to follow. The questions were simple and well-worded, but we’re not IP experts, so there were times when we needed some help.

This was provided by follow-up phone calls with the Inngot team, who were really good at breaking complex IP matters down, explaining what everything meant. That kind of human element is very important.

Andy Allen - Founder and CEO at Hike SEO

As part of the loan application for the IP-backed finance proposition, NatWest requires applicants to validate their IP and intangibles using Inngot’s identification tool, Goldseam; if this indicates they had qualifying IP which could be used as collateral, they are then asked to use Inngot’s online IP valuation tool, Sollomon, to establish that the value of the IP in question is sufficient for loan purposes.

Finally, Inngot’s new Hallmarq tool, specifically developed to assess the strength of a company’s IP and its suitability as collateral, advises the bank on a prudent loan-to-value figure.

Inngot’s tools for identifying, valuing and then checking the suitability of IP as collateral for a loan cost less than £1,000. The customer also pays a one-off upfront monitoring fee of 0.4% per year (including VAT), to cover the bank’s required due diligence checks on the IP over the lifetime of the loan, including annual IP revaluations.

These revaluations are designed not just to flag up potential issues – if IP value is impaired in some way – but also highlight any increase in IP value, which could allow the client to borrow more. All charges are clearly set out in the NatWest terms and conditions.

Andy Allen says: “The user interface for Inngot’s tools was clean and it was fairly easy to follow. The questions were simple and well-worded, but we’re not IP experts, so there were times when we needed some help. This was provided by follow-up phone calls with the Inngot team, who were really good at breaking complex IP matters down, explaining what everything meant. That kind of human element is very important.”

Chris Garnett, NatWest’s Senior Relationship Manager, Leicestershire & Northamptonshire, who helped Hike with the IP-backed loan process, says: “Since first meeting Andy at Hike in May I really bought into what they were trying to achieve, helping SMEs take control of their own SEO. The IP loan funding was a great way for them to take the next step in their journey by leveraging their IP rather than diluting their ownership.”

The result

£250,000 IP loan approved by NatWest

Hike successfully negotiated a £250,000 finance package from NatWest, using its IP as collateral.

Since first meeting Andy at Hike in May I really bought into what they were trying to achieve, helping SMEs take control of their own SEO. The IP loan funding was a great way for them to take the next step in their journey by leveraging their IP rather than diluting their ownership.

Chris Garnett - Senior Relationship Manager, Leicestershire & Northamptonshire