Success Story
- Leveraging Customer Reviews and Franchising for Growth
Founded in 2014 and based in Bootham, York, Trustist is an innovative digital reviews platform helping businesses maximise the impact of their online reputation. With a £250,000 loan through the Growth Guarantee Scheme, Trustist is scaling up its technology, marketing, and team, and redefining how businesses use customer feedback to grow.
| Region/Nation | Yorkshire and Humber |
|---|---|
| Sector | Technology |
| Programme | Growth Guarantee Scheme |
| Partner |
A pioneer in online commerce and reputation
Nigel Apperley, founder and CEO of Trustist, is no stranger to the world of digital business. Having started his career in e-commerce back in 1999 selling digital cameras, Nigel’s first company reached a £28m valuation. His experience includes leadership roles with global industry giants such as Canon and he has headed up projects that leverage early online review platforms like Trustpilot and Google Reviews.
I’ve always been fascinated by how digital trust drives growth. With one of my earlier ventures, just experimenting with customer reviews helped increase revenue by 50%.
- Nigel Apperley Founder and CEO, Trustist
Before Trustist found its true niche, the business began as a tablet management solution, but Nigel admits the early direction wasn’t quite right.
We had several challenges in the first few years.
But once we started focusing on the power of reviews and simplifying the process for businesses, things clicked.
- Nigel Apperley Founder and CEO, Trustist
From start-up to scalable franchise
Launched in 2014, Trustist has grown into a York-based team of eight, with a significantly expanded product offering that now includes review collection via QR codes and payment terminals, instant account-to-account open banking payments, and the use of near field communication chips to streamline customer interaction.
To take its offering to the next level, Trustist secured a £250,000 loan with funding provided by Finance Yorkshire via the FSE Group which manages Finance Yorkshire’s loan fund. The investment was used to further develop proprietary technology, expand marketing efforts, hire additional staff in York, bring in external developers to refine their review platform, and accelerate the rollout of their open banking product.
Since the loan, Trustist has strengthened its market position in the digital reviews space, rolled out its payments brand, and continued expanding through its franchise network.
In just 14-15 months, Trustist developed a sales franchising model with 99.9% client retention. With 18 franchisees now active across the UK, this model is helping local businesses easily adopt powerful review solutions.
The loan gave us confidence to take more risks. Franchising has completely changed the business — it’s a genuinely scalable model now.
- Nigel Apperley Founder and CEO, Trustist
The business also launched Trustist Payments, including a new brand, ‘Instant’, offering open banking technology with seamless payment terminals, all delivered at a cost-effective rate of just a few pence per transaction.
The loan process: straightforward and strategic
If you’re serious about raising money, you need to have a good story and a solid plan. I didn’t want to dilute equity, so debt was the right option.
- Nigel Apperley Founder and CEO, Trustist
Trustist’s founder was highly prepared and approached the application process with a clear vision and strong financial projections.
Nigel’s preparation and track record made the process smooth. Having the right documentation and knowing exactly what the funds were for helped things move quickly.
- Paul Wainwright Head of Debt Funds, Finance Yorkshire
Trustist is another great example of utilising the Growth Guarantee Scheme, enabling the York-based digital reviews platform to scale its technology, expand its team, and successfully launch a high-retention franchise model. This funding exemplifies how the Scheme helps innovative UK businesses grow sustainably without diluting equity.
Trustist is a great example of how the Growth Guarantee Scheme can empower ambitious companies to scale up, innovate, and create wider economic impact
- Sean Hutchinson British Business Bank
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