CoComply, a RegTech company based at Alderley Park in Cheshire, has raised £1.9m from NPIF II – Mercia Equity Finance, Haatch and a group of operator angels. It grew revenue by 240% in 2025 and expects growth of more than 120% this year.
CoComply makes AI-based software that helps mid-sized and large organisations map their external workforce. That includes contractors, agency staff and workers hidden inside supplier contracts. The software then flags which compliance checks each arrangement needs.
The round combines institutional and angel money. The institutional investors are Mercia, through the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II), and Haatch, an early-stage investor.
The angels are well-known operators. Richard Law, former chief executive of identity verification group GBG, joins as chair. Seb Timpson, co-founder of With Intelligence, also invested; S&P Global acquired that business for $1.8bn in November 2025. Stephen Cann, chief executive of Bollin Group, completes the group.
Terms were not disclosed. Neither the valuation nor the split between the institutional and angel cheques was made public.
Traction behind the cheque
CoComply said its revenues grew 240% in 2025 and are forecast to rise by more than 120% in 2026. Its named customers are Aston Martin, Take-Two, RS Group, Thredd, Quint Group, Dementia UK and the Royal Yachting Association.
The money will fund product development and expand sales, marketing and delivery teams. CoComply also won an Innovate UK Smart Grant in 2024, so some of its development has been funded without giving up equity.
A founder who knows the problem
Founder and chief executive Michael Cleavely ran an IT consultancy when the 2021 IR35 reforms came in, and dealt with worker-classification problems first-hand. He has sold a company before. He founded workforce consultancy Triple Seven and sold it to Experis Manpower in 2013.
"Many businesses still struggle to answer a very basic question: how many people actually work for us, what are they doing and how are they engaged?" Cleavely said.
Maurice Disasi of Mercia Ventures said the size of the problem stood out, given how much organisations now depend on outsourcing. Marwa Ebrahim, an associate at Haatch, said the platform gives companies visibility of an often overlooked risk.
Why the timing matters
The raise follows a change in tax rules. Since 6 April 2026, recruitment agencies, and in some cases end clients, can be held jointly liable for PAYE and National Insurance that umbrella companies fail to pay. That turns weak supply-chain checks from an administrative problem into a direct financial exposure.
The round also adds to Mercia's list of northern RegTech deals through NPIF II. CoComply will now try to turn that regulatory change into recurring revenue from larger enterprise clients.
Original source: TheBusinessDesk.com (North West) — https://www.thebusinessdesk.com/northwest/news/2180946-cocomply-raises-1.9m-to-uncover-hidden-workforce-compliance-risk
