Liverpool games developer lands £600,000 loan to supercharge growth
17 Dec 2024
A Liverpool-based video game developer and publisher best known for creating a mobile chess game based on the Netflix hit TV series, the Queen’s Gambit, has secured a £600,000 intellectual property backed loan from NatWest to bring its next big ideas to market.
Ripstone, based in Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter, has become the first UK gaming company to secure a loan from NatWest using its intellectual property as collateral. The move could improve funding for the games industry which generates £220 million each year for Liverpool’s economy and employs 1800 people1.
Since the company was founded in 2011 Ripstone’s creative team has produced 21 games, reaching an audience of 20 million players worldwide. The business has a track record of creating and publishing classic games such as chess, pool and poker, but also develops games based on its own original IP.
Ripstone plans to use the funding to invest in its pipeline of new projects, including the development of new IP as well as other classic games. The firm employs 20 staff and has recently acquired a new office in the heart of the Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter, which was supported by a mortgage from the Royal Bank of Scotland, part of NatWest Group.
Earlier this year NatWest launched intellectual property backed lending to support innovative scale ups which lack tangible assets to access the finance they need to grow. The bank partners with the specialist IP valuation firm Inngot to identify and value ‘intangible assets’ – such as patents, copyright and trademarks – which could be taken as security for loans.
NatWest has provided Ripstone with a specialist technology relationship director, Angela Moretta, who will offer additional support to the company as it embraces new opportunities. Across the UK, the bank employs 100 technology specialist RMs who provide targeted support to customers to help them grow their businesses.
Amy Wall, Finance Director at Ripstone, said:
“As a games developer we place a really strong emphasis on having ideas heard and prototyping new games, so we’ll typically have at least three new projects on the go at any one time. Video games can often take several years to develop, so you need a strong pipeline of funding to launch them and start to generate revenue.
“Our longstanding banking relationship with NatWest has been really important to enable us to leverage the value of our IP to secure finance. This loan will help the business to grow organically, allowing us to develop more original IP which gamers love, as well as providing the financial buffer to help us continue to produce the classic games like chess and pool for which we’re well known.”
James Shelley, Senior Relationship Manager at NatWest, said: “Games are a serious business for Liverpool’s economy – employing lots of people in very good jobs that provide growth to the area. However, typical loans do not always meet the funding needs of games developers, which may lack tangible assets like bricks and mortar, but more than make up for that with valuable IP.
“As a bank we want to support innovative firms like Ripstone to grow and our aim is always to enable them to leverage the ideas that really drive their success. This solution has the potential to be game changing for the industry, enabling developers to use their valuable IP to secure lending. We look forward to continuing to support Ripstone as they expand their tech capabilities and continue to lead in an increasingly competitive market.”
Martin Brassell, CEO of Inngot, commented: “With NatWest’s IP-backed loan, IP and intangibles can be recognised and valued as business-critical assets and used as collateral, even for smaller loans. This latest deal is further evidence that IP-backed finance is the route forwards for funding scale-up companies.”
NatWest
At NatWest we understand that high growth businesses need funding to scale and grow in line with their ambitions but may lack valuable traditional fixed assets to pledge as security. With loans starting from just £250,000, IP-backed lending aims to improve the funding pipeline for high growth businesses who, because of their lack of fixed assets, often find it difficult to secure loans to drive their growth.
About Ripstone
At Ripstone, we’re driven by the passion to deliver exceptional experiences for everyone. We relentlessly pursue improvement, without ever losing sight of the fun it takes to make good games great. To learn more, please visit: https://ripstone.com/
About Inngot
Inngot has been providing IP valuation tools and services since 2010, with a particular focus on helping companies establish the value of their IP and intangible assets to support equity and debt fundraising. Its online platform, developed with SMEs in mind, offers a consistent, cost-effective and scalable way to identify and value these otherwise ‘hidden’ company-owned intangibles. The toolkit has been used by hundreds of early-stage and scale up companies for a range of purposes, but mainly to support fund-raising. Inngot also provides customised IP strategy services for larger companies, and has advised NGOs, government agencies and innovation networks on IP identification and monetisation policy.
Media contact
For media queries, please contact Lucy Chislett, Media Relations Manager at lucy.chislett@natwest.com
The information contained in our press releases is intended solely for journalists and media and should not be used by consumers to make financial decisions. Terms and conditions apply to any products or services mentioned in our press releases.
A Liverpool-based video game developer and publisher best known for creating a mobile chess game based on the Netflix hit TV series, the Queen’s Gambit, has secured a £600,000 intellectual property backed loan from NatWest to bring its next big ideas to market.
Ripstone, based in Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter, has become the first UK gaming company to secure a loan from NatWest using its intellectual property as collateral. The move could improve funding for the games industry which generates £220 million each year for Liverpool’s economy and employs 1800 people1.
Since the company was founded in 2011 Ripstone’s creative team has produced 21 games, reaching an audience of 20 million players worldwide. The business has a track record of creating and publishing classic games such as chess, pool and poker, but also develops games based on its own original IP.
Ripstone plans to use the funding to invest in its pipeline of new projects, including the development of new IP as well as other classic games. The firm employs 20 staff and has recently acquired a new office in the heart of the Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter, which was supported by a mortgage from the Royal Bank of Scotland, part of NatWest Group.
Earlier this year NatWest launched intellectual property backed lending to support innovative scale ups which lack tangible assets to access the finance they need to grow. The bank partners with the specialist IP valuation firm Inngot to identify and value ‘intangible assets’ – such as patents, copyright and trademarks – which could be taken as security for loans.
NatWest has provided Ripstone with a specialist technology relationship director, Angela Moretta, who will offer additional support to the company as it embraces new opportunities. Across the UK, the bank employs 100 technology specialist RMs who provide targeted support to customers to help them grow their businesses.
Amy Wall, Finance Director at Ripstone, said:
“As a games developer we place a really strong emphasis on having ideas heard and prototyping new games, so we’ll typically have at least three new projects on the go at any one time. Video games can often take several years to develop, so you need a strong pipeline of funding to launch them and start to generate revenue.
“Our longstanding banking relationship with NatWest has been really important to enable us to leverage the value of our IP to secure finance. This loan will help the business to grow organically, allowing us to develop more original IP which gamers love, as well as providing the financial buffer to help us continue to produce the classic games like chess and pool for which we’re well known.”
James Shelley, Senior Relationship Manager at NatWest, said: “Games are a serious business for Liverpool’s economy – employing lots of people in very good jobs that provide growth to the area. However, typical loans do not always meet the funding needs of games developers, which may lack tangible assets like bricks and mortar, but more than make up for that with valuable IP.
“As a bank we want to support innovative firms like Ripstone to grow and our aim is always to enable them to leverage the ideas that really drive their success. This solution has the potential to be game changing for the industry, enabling developers to use their valuable IP to secure lending. We look forward to continuing to support Ripstone as they expand their tech capabilities and continue to lead in an increasingly competitive market.”
Martin Brassell, CEO of Inngot, commented: “With NatWest’s IP-backed loan, IP and intangibles can be recognised and valued as business-critical assets and used as collateral, even for smaller loans. This latest deal is further evidence that IP-backed finance is the route forwards for funding scale-up companies.”
NatWest
At NatWest we understand that high growth businesses need funding to scale and grow in line with their ambitions but may lack valuable traditional fixed assets to pledge as security. With loans starting from just £250,000, IP-backed lending aims to improve the funding pipeline for high growth businesses who, because of their lack of fixed assets, often find it difficult to secure loans to drive their growth.
About Ripstone
At Ripstone, we’re driven by the passion to deliver exceptional experiences for everyone. We relentlessly pursue improvement, without ever losing sight of the fun it takes to make good games great. To learn more, please visit: https://ripstone.com/
About Inngot
Inngot has been providing IP valuation tools and services since 2010, with a particular focus on helping companies establish the value of their IP and intangible assets to support equity and debt fundraising. Its online platform, developed with SMEs in mind, offers a consistent, cost-effective and scalable way to identify and value these otherwise ‘hidden’ company-owned intangibles. The toolkit has been used by hundreds of early-stage and scale up companies for a range of purposes, but mainly to support fund-raising. Inngot also provides customised IP strategy services for larger companies, and has advised NGOs, government agencies and innovation networks on IP identification and monetisation policy.
Media contact
For media queries, please contact Lucy Chislett, Media Relations Manager at lucy.chislett@natwest.com
The information contained in our press releases is intended solely for journalists and media and should not be used by consumers to make financial decisions. Terms and conditions apply to any products or services mentioned in our press releases.
A Liverpool-based video game developer and publisher best known for creating a mobile chess game based on the Netflix hit TV series, the Queen’s Gambit, has secured a £600,000 intellectual property backed loan from NatWest to bring its next big ideas to market.
Ripstone, based in Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter, has become the first UK gaming company to secure a loan from NatWest using its intellectual property as collateral. The move could improve funding for the games industry which generates £220 million each year for Liverpool’s economy and employs 1800 people1.
Since the company was founded in 2011 Ripstone’s creative team has produced 21 games, reaching an audience of 20 million players worldwide. The business has a track record of creating and publishing classic games such as chess, pool and poker, but also develops games based on its own original IP.
Ripstone plans to use the funding to invest in its pipeline of new projects, including the development of new IP as well as other classic games. The firm employs 20 staff and has recently acquired a new office in the heart of the Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter, which was supported by a mortgage from the Royal Bank of Scotland, part of NatWest Group.
Earlier this year NatWest launched intellectual property backed lending to support innovative scale ups which lack tangible assets to access the finance they need to grow. The bank partners with the specialist IP valuation firm Inngot to identify and value ‘intangible assets’ – such as patents, copyright and trademarks – which could be taken as security for loans.
NatWest has provided Ripstone with a specialist technology relationship director, Angela Moretta, who will offer additional support to the company as it embraces new opportunities. Across the UK, the bank employs 100 technology specialist RMs who provide targeted support to customers to help them grow their businesses.
Amy Wall, Finance Director at Ripstone, said:
“As a games developer we place a really strong emphasis on having ideas heard and prototyping new games, so we’ll typically have at least three new projects on the go at any one time. Video games can often take several years to develop, so you need a strong pipeline of funding to launch them and start to generate revenue.
“Our longstanding banking relationship with NatWest has been really important to enable us to leverage the value of our IP to secure finance. This loan will help the business to grow organically, allowing us to develop more original IP which gamers love, as well as providing the financial buffer to help us continue to produce the classic games like chess and pool for which we’re well known.”
James Shelley, Senior Relationship Manager at NatWest, said: “Games are a serious business for Liverpool’s economy – employing lots of people in very good jobs that provide growth to the area. However, typical loans do not always meet the funding needs of games developers, which may lack tangible assets like bricks and mortar, but more than make up for that with valuable IP.
“As a bank we want to support innovative firms like Ripstone to grow and our aim is always to enable them to leverage the ideas that really drive their success. This solution has the potential to be game changing for the industry, enabling developers to use their valuable IP to secure lending. We look forward to continuing to support Ripstone as they expand their tech capabilities and continue to lead in an increasingly competitive market.”
Martin Brassell, CEO of Inngot, commented: “With NatWest’s IP-backed loan, IP and intangibles can be recognised and valued as business-critical assets and used as collateral, even for smaller loans. This latest deal is further evidence that IP-backed finance is the route forwards for funding scale-up companies.”
NatWest
At NatWest we understand that high growth businesses need funding to scale and grow in line with their ambitions but may lack valuable traditional fixed assets to pledge as security. With loans starting from just £250,000, IP-backed lending aims to improve the funding pipeline for high growth businesses who, because of their lack of fixed assets, often find it difficult to secure loans to drive their growth.
About Ripstone
At Ripstone, we’re driven by the passion to deliver exceptional experiences for everyone. We relentlessly pursue improvement, without ever losing sight of the fun it takes to make good games great. To learn more, please visit: https://ripstone.com/
About Inngot
Inngot has been providing IP valuation tools and services since 2010, with a particular focus on helping companies establish the value of their IP and intangible assets to support equity and debt fundraising. Its online platform, developed with SMEs in mind, offers a consistent, cost-effective and scalable way to identify and value these otherwise ‘hidden’ company-owned intangibles. The toolkit has been used by hundreds of early-stage and scale up companies for a range of purposes, but mainly to support fund-raising. Inngot also provides customised IP strategy services for larger companies, and has advised NGOs, government agencies and innovation networks on IP identification and monetisation policy.
Media contact
For media queries, please contact Lucy Chislett, Media Relations Manager at lucy.chislett@natwest.com
The information contained in our press releases is intended solely for journalists and media and should not be used by consumers to make financial decisions. Terms and conditions apply to any products or services mentioned in our press releases.
A Liverpool-based video game developer and publisher best known for creating a mobile chess game based on the Netflix hit TV series, the Queen’s Gambit, has secured a £600,000 intellectual property backed loan from NatWest to bring its next big ideas to market.
Ripstone, based in Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter, has become the first UK gaming company to secure a loan from NatWest using its intellectual property as collateral. The move could improve funding for the games industry which generates £220 million each year for Liverpool’s economy and employs 1800 people1.
Since the company was founded in 2011 Ripstone’s creative team has produced 21 games, reaching an audience of 20 million players worldwide. The business has a track record of creating and publishing classic games such as chess, pool and poker, but also develops games based on its own original IP.
Ripstone plans to use the funding to invest in its pipeline of new projects, including the development of new IP as well as other classic games. The firm employs 20 staff and has recently acquired a new office in the heart of the Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter, which was supported by a mortgage from the Royal Bank of Scotland, part of NatWest Group.
Earlier this year NatWest launched intellectual property backed lending to support innovative scale ups which lack tangible assets to access the finance they need to grow. The bank partners with the specialist IP valuation firm Inngot to identify and value ‘intangible assets’ – such as patents, copyright and trademarks – which could be taken as security for loans.
NatWest has provided Ripstone with a specialist technology relationship director, Angela Moretta, who will offer additional support to the company as it embraces new opportunities. Across the UK, the bank employs 100 technology specialist RMs who provide targeted support to customers to help them grow their businesses.
Amy Wall, Finance Director at Ripstone, said:
“As a games developer we place a really strong emphasis on having ideas heard and prototyping new games, so we’ll typically have at least three new projects on the go at any one time. Video games can often take several years to develop, so you need a strong pipeline of funding to launch them and start to generate revenue.
“Our longstanding banking relationship with NatWest has been really important to enable us to leverage the value of our IP to secure finance. This loan will help the business to grow organically, allowing us to develop more original IP which gamers love, as well as providing the financial buffer to help us continue to produce the classic games like chess and pool for which we’re well known.”
James Shelley, Senior Relationship Manager at NatWest, said: “Games are a serious business for Liverpool’s economy – employing lots of people in very good jobs that provide growth to the area. However, typical loans do not always meet the funding needs of games developers, which may lack tangible assets like bricks and mortar, but more than make up for that with valuable IP.
“As a bank we want to support innovative firms like Ripstone to grow and our aim is always to enable them to leverage the ideas that really drive their success. This solution has the potential to be game changing for the industry, enabling developers to use their valuable IP to secure lending. We look forward to continuing to support Ripstone as they expand their tech capabilities and continue to lead in an increasingly competitive market.”
Martin Brassell, CEO of Inngot, commented: “With NatWest’s IP-backed loan, IP and intangibles can be recognised and valued as business-critical assets and used as collateral, even for smaller loans. This latest deal is further evidence that IP-backed finance is the route forwards for funding scale-up companies.”
NatWest
At NatWest we understand that high growth businesses need funding to scale and grow in line with their ambitions but may lack valuable traditional fixed assets to pledge as security. With loans starting from just £250,000, IP-backed lending aims to improve the funding pipeline for high growth businesses who, because of their lack of fixed assets, often find it difficult to secure loans to drive their growth.
About Ripstone
At Ripstone, we’re driven by the passion to deliver exceptional experiences for everyone. We relentlessly pursue improvement, without ever losing sight of the fun it takes to make good games great. To learn more, please visit: https://ripstone.com/
About Inngot
Inngot has been providing IP valuation tools and services since 2010, with a particular focus on helping companies establish the value of their IP and intangible assets to support equity and debt fundraising. Its online platform, developed with SMEs in mind, offers a consistent, cost-effective and scalable way to identify and value these otherwise ‘hidden’ company-owned intangibles. The toolkit has been used by hundreds of early-stage and scale up companies for a range of purposes, but mainly to support fund-raising. Inngot also provides customised IP strategy services for larger companies, and has advised NGOs, government agencies and innovation networks on IP identification and monetisation policy.
Media contact
For media queries, please contact Lucy Chislett, Media Relations Manager at lucy.chislett@natwest.com
The information contained in our press releases is intended solely for journalists and media and should not be used by consumers to make financial decisions. Terms and conditions apply to any products or services mentioned in our press releases.
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Inngot's online platform identifies all your intangible assets and demonstrates their value to lenders, investors, acquirers, licensees and stakeholders
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Copyright © Inngot Limited 2019-2024. All rights reserved.
Inngot's online platform identifies all your intangible assets and demonstrates their value to lenders, investors, acquirers, licensees and stakeholders
Accreditations
Copyright © Inngot Limited 2019-2024. All rights reserved.
Inngot's online platform identifies all your intangible assets and demonstrates their value to lenders, investors, acquirers, licensees and stakeholders
Accreditations
Copyright © Inngot Limited 2019-2024. All rights reserved.
Inngot's online platform identifies all your intangible assets and demonstrates their value to lenders, investors, acquirers, licensees and stakeholders
Accreditations
Copyright © Inngot Limited 2019-2024. All rights reserved.