Coyle and McCann are among well-known Everseen backers

A POSSE of high-profile, wealthy Irish investors are backing a Cork firm that has signed up some of the world’s biggest retailers for its breakthrough technology.

Everseen has just raised €3.5m from backers including Total Produce chairman Carl McCann, former Tayto crisp owner Ray Coyle, and technology entrepreneur Cyril McGuire.

London-based Marcol Capital has stumped up €1m of the latest funding, making it a first-time investor in the Irish business. Marcol’s involvement is a huge coup for Everseen. The UK firm, headed by Terence Cole and Mark Steinberg, have invested hundreds of millions of euro across Europe in property, healthcare, retail and technology sectors.

Everseen, whose technology helps to prevent fraud, theft and irregularities at the point of sale in stores, also raised €500,000 earlier this year.

It brings the total raised by the firm, founded by chief executive Alan O’Herlihy, to about €8.5m since it was founded in 2008. It aims to help retailers combat the $40bn in annual losses that are racked up globally by them due to non-scanning and other irregularities at points of sale.

Other investors in the company include Eamonn Rothwell, the boss of ferry firm Irish Continental, and the former executive chairman of Grafton Group, Michael Chadwick. Tech entrepreneur Pat Brazel has also invested in the Cork firm, and is a director of the business.

Financier Paul Keenan, the founder of investment firm Capnua, has taken a stake in Everseen.

So too have Philip Nolan, a partner with Dublin law firm Mason Hayes & Curran, and Terry Buckley, the managing director of advertising firm Clear Channel Ireland. Buckley is also a non-executive director of Independent News & Media.