Shein and Co put faith in Net Return

Net Return, the Australasian distributor of NetSuite, has announced that it is to receive funding from a collective of high profile investors led by former Com Tech boss David Shein.

Saltbush Annuity Growth Management and a consortium of investors led by Shein have signed on the dotted line to acquire an undisclosed shareholding in the company, which delivers an online application suite called NetSuite.

Shein -- who sold networking supplier Com Tech to Dimension Data in 2000 for a sum in excess of $1 billion -- is widely regarded as a major player in the Australian IT market.

In a statement, Mason Little, CEO at Net Return called the backing a "signal of faith" in the business. "When [investment] comes from Saltbush and the David Shein consortium, then you know that you really are on the right track," he said.

Little said the deal seals a "considerable amount of time" in evaluations by the investors. "Both Saltbush and the David Shein consortium are sophisticated investors.

“They don't take punts. Both groups felt, as we do, that there is tremendous market opportunity for Net Return. Even with our successes, we have only just scratched the surface of the Australian market which we estimate to be in excess of $5 billion dollars," Little said.

Earlier this year, Net Return, which doubled staff numbers this year, opened new offices in Brisbane and Melbourne. The newly injected capital would enable further envisaged expansion objectives to be met, the company said.

"Right now we have the best products in the market and our challenge is to get in front of more people. Every time NetSuite is independently analysed and compared it comes out on top of the competition. We just need to make the market more aware of what we can do for them," Little said.