UK Start-Up Mimecast Secures $21 Million

Mimecast, an email management company offering SaaS-based email archiving, continuity, security and policy control, announced that it has received $21 million (£13 million) in Series B financing from venture capital firms Index Ventures and Dawn Capital. Mimecast plans to use the funding to increase research and development initiatives and continue to build its market presence.

Founded in the UK in 2003 by Peter Bauer (CEO) and Neil Murray (CTO), Mimecast’s cloud based platform extends the capabilities of in-house email systems by incorporating bottomless storage, archiving, eDiscovery, spam/virus protection and continuous availability. By removing the need for several different in-house solutions and extending the life and value of existing Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Outlook platforms, Mimecast minimizes risk and complexity to provide end-to-end control of email at a significantly reduced cost. Consequently, Mimecast’s business has proved robust during the recession, the company having experienced triple digit revenue growth in each of the last 3 financial years.

Mimecast supports a global base approaching 2,500 customers across a number of industries including financial services, legal, manufacturing and the public sector and has offices in Europe, North America, Africa, the Middle East and the Channel Islands.

Mimecast CEO and co-founder, Peter Bauer, said: "The global economic downturn has brought the savings we deliver to our customers into sharp focus. SaaS has become mainstream and our proven ability to deliver a reliable service with very short implementation cycles puts Mimecast in an ideal position to help thousands more companies realize the benefits that cloud computing can bring. This new funding will help us build market leadership further."

Index Ventures partner, Bernard Dalle, who will be joining the Mimecast board, said: "Thousands of customers have chosen to move away from a cocktail of on-premise software applications for Mimecast’s unique integrated service platform. We have been very impressed by the company’s market traction, continued growth rate and the dedication of the team."

Norman Fiore, partner at Dawn Capital and an existing board member of Mimecast, commented: "As a midsize fund, it became clear over time that Mimecast’s dramatic growth would require us to look externally to fully exploit the market opportunity. We are particularly delighted to welcome Index Ventures whose strong track record in helping European companies succeed in the US makes them the ideal growth partner for Mimecast’s outstanding team."