Calastone, the independent cross-border transaction network for the global funds industry, today announces an 18 USD million round of investment led by Accel Partners with participation from existing investor Octopus Investments. The investment will be used to accelerate the company's global growth strategy, with a focus on Asia Pacific and Europe, in addition to expanding its product range.

Calastone was launched in 2007 with the primary objective of significantly reducing the cost and risks associated with mutual fund transaction processing. Calastone's approach to introducing interoperability for the industry has been to build out a global network, complemented by a wide and growing range of innovative products, supported by exemplary client service. By removing all of the technical barriers to the automation of fund transactions, Calastone has enabled the industry to reduce its transaction costs by more than 60%.

Calastone's unique network enables any party involved in the production, distribution or management of funds to transact electronically, regardless of size or location. Calastone acts as a translation hub, meaning that participants can connect quickly and communicate using any messaging format, standard or protocol. Connecting to Calastone is very straightforward and does not require investment in new technology or changes to existing communications processes.

Julien Hammerson, Chairman and CEO of Calastone, said: 'Calastone has been in an expeditious growth phase since inception, and now we are accelerating that evolution.

'Building on the support we have had from Octopus and our other early investors, this latest fundraising, in partnership with Accel, will enable Calastone to further deliver against its ambitions and truly compete in the global arena.

'With strong connections in a number of domiciles, we are poised to build on these foundations and further strengthen our position in Europe, across Asia, Australia and beyond.

'Having received a great deal of interest from third party investors, we decided to work with Accel due to its strength as an international venture capital group as well as the level of professionalism and industry acumen demonstrated by the team. We are looking forward to working together in taking Calastone forward into the next phase.'

Calastone has gained significant traction since launch and now has more than 450 clients and 4,200 network connections. Over the past 12 months, Calastone has carried order value in excess of $280 billion, and, since inception, has doubled message volume year-on-year.

Sonali De Rycker, Partner at Accel Partners, has joined the Calastone board. She said: 'In a short space of time, Calastone has emerged as a leader in the global funds technology industry and is rapidly expanding to service new markets and new geographies. We are excited to be working with them to help achieve their global vision.'

Alex Macpherson, head of the Ventures team at Octopus Investments, said: 'We continue to be really impressed by the team at Calastone and are excited about the business' next stage of growth. Since we first backed the team in 2008, Calastone has successfully established itself as a critical service to the mutual funds industry. We look forward to continuing to partner with the team as the business expands its services and develops internationally.'