Construction project payment platform ProjectPay has received more than £700,000 in grants from the government-backed innovation agency Innovate UK to help it scale up its offering.
The platform, which provides payment protection for construction industry projects, securing funds and guaranteeing prompt payment for contractors across the building supply chain, is backed by Lloyds Bank.
The London-based business was founded by Louise Stewart, whose husband lost his subcontracting company in Australia after five builders went out of business without paying him. Stewart subsequently moved to the UK from Australia, supported by the UK government’s Global Entrepreneur programme.
ProjectPay is based on embedded payments, which prevents big contractors using payments that belong to subcontractors as free working capital. It removes payment default risks from the construction industry, making it more attractive to banks, lenders and investors.
Stewart said: “ProjectPay provides the first fully digital solution to revolutionise payment security in the construction industry. Our patented platform technology introduces end-to-end encryption, automated compliance checks and seamless integrations with major banks to prevent the endemic issues of payment delays and builder insolvencies which have plagued subcontractors for too long.
“We are delighted to have received UK government support in order to scale our business. This marks a pivotal moment for us, addressing the final piece of the puzzle in transforming construction sector payments, directly addressing resistance from big contractors to adopt new payment flows. We want to provide financial sustainability to contractors and small businesses in the sector, fostering financial inclusion, easy access to low-cost capital, and fairer payments for those not served by mainstream financial institutions.”
