Location Sciences Group PLC (LON:LSAI) has doubled revenues in the first half of the year and strengthened the budding US business as the location intelligence provider seeks to maximise first-mover advantage in a sizeable potential market.

The AIM-listed company said it generated roughly £0.5mln of revenue in the six months to 30 June, versus £0.23mln this time last year.

WATCH: Location Sciences building out its US team and business

Verify, currently the smaller of the group’s two business but where the most potential is predicted, delivered 550mln verified impressions in the first half, more than double the target for the half and following just 54mln that began to filter through in the second half of last year.

So far in the year, 49 new brands has been signed up to Verify versus a target of 50 for the year.

Emphasising that it remains a start-up technology business, Location Sciences, or Proxama as it was formerly known, said it expects a longer sales cycles than previously envisaged, though it expects the impact to be mitigated by the US expansion.

Expectations stateside have been lifted by the appointment of Jason DaWayne Smith, recently a senior partner at WPP’s massive Mindshare agency, as its US chief business officer.

Smith, who will be based in Chicago, will report directly to group chief executive Mark Slade and focus on building up relationships with key customers in the US around the Verify business, as well as expanding the US team that was set up in January.

“Jason's understanding of what makes a great agency partnership will be invaluable to our team as we further expand in the US,” said Slade, explaining that the new man will help educate US brands and agencies about Verify can improve targeted advertising campaigns with location performance data.

Location Sciences ended the half with £1.5mln of cash.