A SCOTTISH online booking specialist has secured nearly £600,000 of investment that will help it take its market-leading software to the world.

Appointedd – an Edinburgh-based start-up – said the £595,000 deal led by business angel syndicate Equity Gap will enable it to treble its team and launch a rapid-growth strategy in new markets.

The money has come from a range of investors, including names such as Gareth Williams of Skyscanner and Marie Macklin of Macklin Enterprise Partnerships, as well as the Scottish Investment Bank, Scottish Enterprise’s investment arm.

Appointedd’s software delivers an array of features including online booking, customer relationship management, and marketing automation. It can revolutionise processes for a range of businesses, from local salons and other services, to global business development agencies, and its suite of tools allows small business owners to manage their businesses entirely online.

The company launched the world’s first multi-time zone booking tools last year, an innovation it credits with establishing a global market for their technology. Last month, Appointedd announced it had been selected as one of 12 integrated software systems in an innovative app platform curated by National Australia Bank (NAB). The deal will see its software being offered to 700,000 SMEs across Australia.

NAB’s new Business in One product integrates Appointedd into an ecosystem of third-party business apps. Data entered into any application will be up-to-date in all other apps, and the platform provides customers with real-time reporting from a customisable central dashboard.

Appointedd founder and CEO Leah Hutcheon said: “It has been fantastic to get such a positive reaction from investors. We have felt extremely honoured to attract investment from the founder of one of Scotland’s unicorn companies and experienced entrepreneurs such as Marie Macklin.

“We look forward to using their expertise to help expand our software globally.

“It’s exciting to be working with partners like National Australia Bank. We’re particularly looking forward to growing our team as we have another global player to be announced soon.”

Fraser Lusty, director of Equity Gap, said: “We are delighted to continue to support Leah and the team at Appointedd through their next growth phase.

“We have particularly been impressed with the technical product enhancements and the strategic alliances formed, which will open up volume markets in the USA, Europe and Australasia.”

Williams added: “It’s been a pleasure to watch the Appointedd product hone over time and I’m excited to be involved in the next stage of their growth. The software has the potential to be the leader in a huge market and I look forward to watching their international expansion.”

Entrepreneurial Spark supported Appointedd, which won one of the first ScottishEDGE Awards.

Hutcheon is an ambassador for Women’s Enterprise Scotland and Entrepreneurial Scotland, and Appointedd won the AccelerateHER competition run by Investing Women.

Jim Duffy, the founder of Entrepreneurial Spark, said: “Securing such a huge investment from key figures is a great achievement and demonstrates how successful Appointedd’s business model has been, and its potential for use across the globe.”