Belfast technology company Locate a Locum, which helps locum healthcare professionals find flexible work opportunities, has announced £1 million in equity funding that will be used to grow and scale the business.
Locate a Locum uses its on-demand technology platform to pair thousands of pharmacists around the UK with over 8,000 workplaces in need of staff. Users can book a shift in their desired place of work in under a minute.
It has already secured business with the UK’s four largest pharmacy chains - Boots, Well, Rowlands and Lloyds - and has also successfully launched and sold a bespoke workforce management platform to Superdrug that is used in over 230 branches.
Locate a Locum has now raised £1m in equity investment to fund the next phase of its development – including the creation of six new jobs - from Techstart Ventures, private investors and Co-Fund NI, a European Regional Development Fund managed by Clarendon Fund Managers.
The company has more than one thousand pharmacists actively booking shifts through the platform on a weekly basis and it plans to replicate its approach in other healthcare sectors.
Jonathon Clarke, Chief Executive of Locate a Locum, said: “We are excited to receive this backing from our investors as it will help us scale the business and continue to grow. Locate a Locum has a close-knit team of 20 today, but we expect to triple in size in the next three years as we extend our reach and expand into new markets.
“Using Locate a Locum, pharmacists who previously spent hours every week searching for their next locum shift now receive daily job alerts from the pharmacies that need them, so they can work where and when they want. More and more people want that flexibility in their working lives and we intend to diversify to serve other healthcare professions in future.”
The company said that its users have reported that the platform has made a positive impact on their lives by allowing them greater flexibility, the ability to manage their diaries and an easy way to keep track of payments they are due to receive.
In recent months the firm has won contracts with Right Medicine Pharmacy and Juno Health to serve more than 40 branches across the UK, creating an immediate need for six additional staff.
