TendedBar, the Jacksonville Beach-based automated bar company that serves drinks at the Downtown Jacksonville sports complex, said Dec. 22 it raised $5 million in funding to expand its business.
TendedBar said it raised the capital from an investment group led by BASE Capital after it began dispensing drinks this year at Jacksonville Jaguars games at TIAA Bank Field.
The company said in an annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it began serving drinks at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in 2019.
TendedBar made several SEC filings in recent years as it raised capital. Its annual report said it raised $184,595 from crowdfunding in 2018.
The company reported $38,230 in 2020 revenue. It said its revenue was achieved in the first four months of the year before the coronavirus pandemic shut down most events at the arena for the rest of 2020.
The annual report said as the company grows, it expects data collected from every transaction by its automated drink dispensers will be a valuable commodity. The machines collect data on who is buying drinks, how much they are spending and which brands they prefer.
“We believe the collected data will become the backbone of our revenue model,” it said.
TendedBar said in its Dec. 22 news release that the success of its technology at Jaguars games has put it ahead of its growth plans.
“Venues, events and sports leagues are focused on ways to improve the fan experience through automation technology,” co-founder Justin Honeysuckle said in the release.
“We are bullish on the future of automation and TendedBar’s role in the fan experience.”
Jacksonville-based staffing company GEE Group Inc. said Dec. 23 that revenue rose 34% in its fourth quarter ended Sept. 30 to $41.5 million, as the pandemic recovery increased demand for its services.
GEE Group said revenue was 7% higher than the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019, before the pandemic.
The company had net income of $3 million, or 3 cents a share, in this year’s fourth quarter, reversing a loss in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020.
“In fiscal 2021, we significantly increased the number of contract workers on assignment and the number of direct hire placements, and we are continuing to experience increasing demand and a robust hiring environment in the fiscal first quarter ending Dec. 31,” CEO Derek Dewan said in a news release.
Dewan said the pandemic is increasing “just-in-time” staffing and the company is also seeing demand for full-time placement.
“Our company will continue to capitalize on these opportunities and, likewise, we expect to continue to benefit from these changes in 2022 and beyond,” he said.
When Cadre Holdings Inc. completed its initial public offering in November, its prospectus filed with the SEC said CEO Warren Kanders continued to control 76.6% of the stock after the IPO.
However, a secondary registration statement filed Dec. 22 shows while Kanders is the controlling shareholder, his stake actually is slightly less than 50%.
Kanders didn’t sell any shares in the Jacksonville-based company, which makes safety and survivability products for first responders. However, an investment company managed by Kanders distributed its shares in Cadre to its members.
Before the distribution, Kanders was listed as the owner of all shares held by the investment company.
The latest filing shows Kanders owning 15.87 million shares, or 46.15%, of Cadre. He also has an IRA with 1.3 million shares, or 3.8%.
Calavo Growers Inc. reported Dec. 20 it incurred $9.7 million in charges to earnings for the fourth quarter ended Oct. 31 as it shut down most of its operations at its Green Cove Springs facility.
California-based Calavo said in October it would end its Renaissance Food Group processing operations at the facility. The company’s annual report filed with the SEC said operations ceased Nov. 15, putting 140 people out of work.
The company said in October it would continue its fresh avocado operations at the facility but that it employs only about 20 people.
Calavo, known for avocado products, leased the 208,000-square-foot distribution center at 4627 J.P. Hall Blvd., formerly used by Food Lion, in 2015. It said at the time it would employ 262 people.
The company’s annual report said it now is looking to sublease the vacated space.
Calavo said it terminated the RFG operations as part of a profit improvement program. The company reported fourth-quarter revenue rose 17% to $273.4 million but it had an adjusted net loss, not including the shutdown charges, of $1.4 million, or 8 cents a share
Jacksonville-based Blue Jay Capital Partners, LLC, said Dec. 22 it acquired Pacific West, LLC, an industrial and mechanical contracting firm based in Salt Lake City.
Blue Jay Capital is an investment firm specializing in the logistics and transportation industry.
Pacific West serves clients in the railroad and other industries in the Western U.S.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.