'˜Pocket waiter' app teams up with US tech giant

An Edinburgh software firm behind an app dubbed 'the waiter in your pocket' has formed a partnership with US technology giant Oracle.

QikServe lets customers order and pay for meals using their smartphone

Under the tie-up, QikServe’s technology – which lets customers order and pay for meals in cafés and restaurants with their smartphones – will be fully integrated into Oracle Hospitality’s point of sale platform.

The move comes hot on the heels of the latest funding round for QikServe, which raised £750,000 in a fundraising led by Par Equity, Equity Gap and the Scottish Investment Bank. The start-up, founded in 2011 by chief executive Ronnie Forbes and chief operating officer Daniel Rodgers, has appointed Cobalt Corporate Finance as adviser and is targeting a Series A round in the region of £5 million later this year or early 2017.

Forbes said: “The Oracle partnership is a badge of distinction in the industry, puts QikServe on a different level in commercial terms and is a testament to the team who have delivered a world-class product that is now being rolled out globally.”

Last year the firm struck a deal with a global airport catering chain HMShost International, which provides food and drink services at more than 100 sites around the world.

QikServe also said today that it has appointed software entrepreneur and former Oracle global account manager Martin Mutch as chairman. Mutch was the founder of Edinburgh IT consultancy Rocela, which was sold to Irish rival Version 1 at the end of 2013.

He said: “QikServe is at the forefront of what is set to become a disruptive technology in the hospitality industry and I very much look forward to bringing my own experience to the table as Ronnie, Dan and the team enter the next exciting phase of growth.”