Brainspark PLC
13 September 2000
BRAINSPARK PLC ANNOUNCES TWO NEW INVESTMENTS
Brainspark, the incubator business focused on germinating and developing
Internet-related and technology businesses today announced two new
investments.
NEW INVESTMENT IN A B2B RAIL INDUSTRY PORTAL
An investment of £400,000 in a corporate e-commerce carve-out with a listed
participant in the rail industry is also announced today. The new business is
a rail industry portal and is being developed in partnership with Diamond
Technology Partners. The identity of the corporate partner will be announced
in the near future.
This project represents Brainspark's first corporate carve-out initiative and
follows on from the Strategic Partnership with Diamond Technology Partners
which was announced last month. The new business will be creating a community
for technical specialists revenues will come from its role as a global
marketplace for used and surplus stock, and an exchange for expertise in the
areas of maintenance, refurbishment, design and manufacturing.
Rail is a global, US$300 billion industry. Investment is accelerating as rich
countries struggle with road congestion and developing countries seek to
establish basic infrastructure. The industry is technically and
geographically fragmented, but manufacturers, technical advisors and investors
are operating on a global level.
NEW INVESTMENT IN QUE PASA
Que Pasa is a new business operating within the dance music and clubbing
market. Dance is a genre representing 15% of total global music sales and in
the UK alone some 10 million young adults aged 16-30 go clubbing at least once
a month.
The Que Pasa team brings with it extensive off-line experience from the music
and publishing worlds in marketing to this demographic group. Que Pasa is
being headed up by Mark Maddox who was until recently, Managing Editor of DMC
Publishing which is the UK based publisher of Seven, the world' s only dance
music weekly. He was also Managing Editor of Mixer, the biggest-selling
dance-music club music magazine in the US and Canada. He is joined by Nick
Green, an experienced journalist and formerly The Guardian's youth culture
expert. Nick also edited Seven magazine. Revenues will come predominantly
through commercialising its media network and also through advertising.
Brainspark has invested £500,000 into Que Pasa.
Mark Maddox, Chief Executive, Que Pasa commented:
'Brainspark understood the revenue potential of this valuable consumer group
and could provide us with the tools we need to grow a substantial business. We
were impressed with the set-up at Brainspark and the strength of their
management team.'
Later this year, Que Pasa will be launching their first web business,
Burnitblue.com which aims to become the definitive online authority on the
latest developments in the dance music and clubbing market.
Stewart Dodd, Brainspark's Chief Executive, said:
'These two investments are exciting additions to our portfolio and take the
total number of companies we are incubating to sixteen. The rail industry
portal is our first carve-out business where we are drawing upon our
Strategic Partnership with Diamond Technology Partners. Que Pasa is working
with a demographic with substantial global revenue potential. To be successful
in this market it is essential to have experienced people with a solid
understanding of the industry and I think we would be hard to find a
better calibre team.
Enquiries:
Brainspark (020 7843 6600)
Stewart Dodd
David Hart
Que Pasa (020 7843 7802)
Mark Maddox
Citigate Dewe Rogerson (020 7638 9571)
Martin Jackson
Charles Vivian
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