Shot Scope has raised $8.5 million (£6.6m) in a fresh funding round to further expand sales of its GPS technology in the lucrative US golf market.
The Edinburgh-based company has also announced plans to move to new headquarters on the outskirts of the city to accommodate its growing team of marketing, sales, and customer service staff. The company currently employs 33 people and expects that number to rise to 40 by the end of this year.
The funding round was led by Guinness Ventures which invested $4m, and takes the total raised to date by Shot Scope to more than £18m. Set up in 2015 by chief executive David Hunter, the company is said to have turned a profit on revenues of $9m in its last financial year.
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Its largest shareholders are Guinness Ventures and Scottish Enterprise, the latter of which also invested in this latest round along with money from Growthdeck, The SideBySide Partnership, and Equity Gap. Virgin Money provided $1.9m in debt finance as part of the overall package.
"This investment accelerates our mission to deliver game improvement technology to 60 million golfers around the world," Mr Hunter said. "Throughout 2024 we plan to invest in infrastructure across the USA to support our retail and distribution partners."
The company sold its GPS watches, laser rangefinders and shot tracking devices to golfers in 160 different countries last year. It also has 300,000 active users of its mobile app and web dashboard, which record and display individual shots and track performance analytics.
“Shot Scope's innovative product and software suite is meeting strong market demand, positioning the company for significant expansion both domestically and internationally," Adam Barker of Guinness Ventures said. "As lead investor, we are thrilled to further support Shot Scope at this inflection point and to continue being a part of its exciting growth journey”.
Shot Scope products are currently available in the largest retailers in the US including Dick’s Sporting Goods and PGA Tour Superstore. It has also established a presence in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand with retailers including Dormy, Golfbox, Golf Warehouse, and PGC Group stocking their technology.
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Christopher Kennedy, director of venture debt at Virgin Money, said Shot Scope has been a "valued customer" within its venture debt portfolio of high-tech businesses for the last three years.
"Over that period we have built a strong relationship with the team at Shot Scope and we are pleased to provide this follow on funding as the business continues to grow," he added. "It’s exciting to see what the future holds as Shot Scope’s expanded suite of products increases further in popularity in markets across the world.”
Kerry Sharp, director of entrepreneurship and investment at Scottish Enterprise, said: “Shot Scope continues to reach impressive milestones with its innovative golf technology. As a longstanding investor, we’re excited to see the company make progress towards its global scaling ambitions.”
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