Located in the heart of Dundee city centre Cerberus Technologies Limited, trading as Orthrus Studios, is a Games & Software Development company who create innovative, captivating and fun solutions for their clients.
Having carried out work for many well-known companies including Police Scotland, the University of St Andrews and Carnegie Birthplace Trust, the team at Orthrus, headed by Director Oliver Smith, has been growing steadily since its inception in 2017.
With a passion for producing quality games and having created a range of these for their clients, Oliver decided he wanted to pursue the avenue of creating Orthrus’ very first IP game called ‘Distant Kingdoms’. With the project commencing in October 2017, the team showcased a demo of Distant Kingdoms at the Games Developers Conference in San Francisco in March 2018 and after receiving an overwhelming positive response, Oliver was keen to take this to market as soon as possible.
With the cost for product development totaling a six-figure sum, Oliver had a funding gap he needed to fill and began exploring various options that would help support his vision for the business. After hearing about Business Loans Scotland and the loan funding available for Scottish SMEs looking to grow, Oliver decided to apply online and was delighted to secure the total loan amount of £100,000 within a matter of weeks.
Talking about his experience of securing a loan through BLS, Oliver said:
“As a start-up company, especially within the Video Games industry, accessing finance can be extremely challenging. It tends to be a long, arduous process that requires the Director to spend their time filling our mountains of paperwork over the course of several weeks just to be told no, usually ruining a credit score at the same time.
My experience with BLS however was the exact opposite. The process was streamlined, with an easy to use online platform taking the form of the application, which whilst comprehensive wasn’t particularly onerous. I was also able to speak to someone at BLS whenever I had questions and they responded quickly. The assessment process was fantastic as well, a very human approach which allowed me to fully explain the business, our goals and how we’re going to achieve them, rather than just looking at our profit and loss.
BLS came in at a time when were close to completing our product, but still needed the extra push to get us over the line. They were invaluable, and I cannot recommend them enough to other SME’s, especially those in the creative industries who are in the midst of development and needing to scale.”
Speaking of the loan awarded, Fund Manager of Business Loans Scotland, Andrew Dickson, added:
“I am delighted that Business Loans Scotland has been able to support Orthrus Studios with loan finance to grow their business. We are passionate about supporting the growth and development plans of SMEs across Scotland, therefore with the help of our loans, businesses can achieve their growth ambitions without delay. With a dedicated pot of £7 million in place, we are keen to support many other businesses, like Orthrus Studios, access loan funding which will allow them to flourish in the current economic environment.”
