Teepix, new investment in global sports media

Oxford, UK, November 2007

David Martell, entrepreneur and founder of Trafficmaster Plc, has announced a substantial investment in his latest venture, ‘Teepix’ – a new and unique sporting technology, which enables golfers’ action shots to be automatically captured on camera and purchased from a dedicated terminal in the clubhouse at the end of their round. The investment has been made by Oxford Capital Partners, the technology focused venture capital house and will enable the company to quickly expand into major golf resorts throughout the world.

Martell established the company just 18 months ago and is well known for conceiving and implementing innovative technologies that are able to quickly realise high commercial value. Oxford Capital Partners is therefore confident that Martell’s latest venture will exploit a unique opportunity and will be adopted worldwide. It will undoubtedly appeal to all golfers, but has a ready made market for corporate events.

An investment of £800,000 has been raised through Oxford Capital Partners’ Oxford Gateway Funds to roll out the technology to around 100 key golf resorts in the USA, Europe and other parts of the world over the next 3 years. Already launched and operating in two resorts in Florida, with two a month being added over the next 6 months across the USA, Teepix is already proving to be an extremely lucrative business.

The technology works by mounting discrete multiple digital cameras near the tee box on the chosen hole. The unique sound of a golfer teeing off is recognised by Teepix’s patented trigger system, which instantly sends a radio signal to activate the cameras. The process is instantaneous and captures the ball, frozen in full flight, just milliseconds after impact, creating a breathtaking action photograph every time. The resulting high resolution images are transferred over a digital data link and the internet to the Teepix editing computers based in Bedford, where automatic enhancement and quality control measures ensure high quality images every time. The finished pictures are then relayed in seconds to a dedicated terminal in the golf resort clubhouse for the golfers to view and purchase at the end of their round. The pictures may also be purchased on the Company’s website www.teepix.com

Mr Edward Mott, Chief Executive of Oxford Capital Partners, commented, “The marketplace for a technology such as this is substantial. With over 70,000 golf courses around the world and 80 million people playing golf worldwide, we believe this is an exciting investment with huge potential for growth. We are confident that David Martell has the drive and expertise to turn this into a very marketable and profitable business”.

Martell’s previous partnership with a venture capital house Top Technology resulted in them making £20million when Trafficmaster floated in 1994, from an investment of just £2.4 million, three years previously.

One of the future possibilities being looked at for Teepix is a stock market floatation in about three years time. The business plan projections are likely to value the company at around £50 million.

Information for editors

Please contact:
Joanne Telford
Oxford Capital Partners
Tel: 01865 860 760
jtelford@oxcp.com
www.oxcp.com

About Oxford Capital Partners

Oxford Capital Partners is a science and technology venture capital firm with extensive experience in investing in and supporting businesses with high growth potential. Oxford Capital Partners looks for the best opportunities, backing exceptional entrepreneurs and investing across all stages of development, from start-up to IPO. Leveraging its extensive networks, Oxford Capital Partners assists portfolio companies in accessing international markets in Europe, the US, Middle East and Asia. Oxford Capital Partners is the manager of four Oxford Gateway Funds and oversees a portfolio of over 25 companies in a range of technology sectors, including ICT, clean technologies, life and physical sciences.

Oxford Capital Partners was named Venture Capital House of the Year 2005 at the Unquote Awards.

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