Castelnau Group Ltd on Monday said Ocula Technologies Holdings Ltd has received new investment from Lloyds Banking Group PLC and their financial technology investment team.

The closed-ended investment firm said Ocula, the data science business in which it is a founding shareholder, has now completed its funding round previously announced in November.

Lloyds’ investment is in the form of new equity capital, Castelnau said. Though an amount was not disclosed, Castelnau said it values Ocula on a post new money basis of £11 million, less than two years since Ocula’s formation.

‘This is a major milestone for Ocula and testament not only to the hard work of the entire team, but also to the clear benefit which Ocula‘s products can bring to their clients. It is also a textbook example of how Castelnau’s long-term, supportive approach to building great businesses can help them flourish and develop,’ said Castelnau Chief Executive Officer Graham Shircore.

‘The amount of investor interest that Ocula has received in recent months has been extremely encouraging and we are excited to welcome Lloyds Banking Group not only as a shareholder in Ocula but also as a partner whose reach and expertise will be of major benefit to the business as it continues to scale-up its operations.’

Ocula CEO Thomas McKenna added: ‘This funding will enable us to fuel our ambitious future development and client plans for our two insight modules, Ocula Boost and Price Optimisation. We look forward to further building on our recent success with cornerstone clients such as the Kansas City Chiefs and AO.’

Shares in Castelnau were flat at 73.00 pence each in London on Friday, after midday, while Lloyds was down 3.0% to 49.91p.

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