Led · Series A · Apr 2021

TheVeganKind operates the UK's largest online vegan supermarket and subscription service, offering nearly 6,000 plant-based products and claiming the largest social media following among vegan-only retailers. TVK's core product is an e-commerce platform and subscription box model that provides next-day delivery seven days a week from its 35,000 sqft Glasgow facility. Founded in 2013 by Scott and Karris McCulloch, the business expanded rapidly since 2020 amid heightened demand for home delivery. TVK has launched an own-brand convenience range, Love Plants, developed with THIS Isn’t Chicken, and has helped launch and stock numerous brands including VFC, Heura, and Omnipork. The company says it will use newly raised funds to improve retail and consumer experience and to invest in people, inventory, infrastructure, and marketing. Future plans include TVK Health and listing hundreds of new brands and products as the team seeks to ramp up operations and take veganism mainstream.

Participated · Equity · Oct 2020

Hometree is a residential energy services business combining hardware installation, financing, repairs and ongoing maintenance on a single platform. It operates a network of products and services under three business divisions (Installation, Financing, Service and Maintenance) to support the full lifecycle of sustainable homeownership. The company plans to use new capital to finance solar panels, batteries and heat pumps in 35,000 UK homes. With the funding in place, Hometree is focusing on financing its own installations and working with companies across the energy supply chain to make it easier for homeowners to choose renewable energy options. It is partnering with renewable installers, energy utilities and hardware manufacturers and has agreed terms with Project Solar, So Energy and myenergi. Hometree is based in London, UK. Hometree, founded by Simon Phelan who has a private equity background and expertise in engineering and finance, helps homeowners accelerate the transition to net-zero. The company offers zero-deposit leases and low-interest, long-term loans for solar panels and battery systems, with heat pump options due during the summer. Payment plans can run up to 25 years for solar panels and are structured so customers can often “pay as they save.” Leases include an ongoing service and maintenance guarantee as standard. Hometree aims to install over 28,000 renewable energy systems in the next two years to meet surging consumer demand. It recently secured a £250 million debt financing from Barclays to scale its lease and loan products and fund installations. Hometree aims to make heat‑pump installation, boiler care and replacement as easy as booking an Uber. The company offers installation and in‑life repair and maintenance services alongside financing products and insurance services. It claims a network of more than 5,000 installers while owning seven installer businesses after recent acquisitions. Hometree has bought North Shields‑based Geowarmth and Kent‑based The Little Green Energy Company, which together have installed around 12,500 renewable systems over the last 10 years, employ 55 people and report combined revenues of £15 million. The business says the acquisitions and its financing capabilities will let it scale quickly through M&A to support homeowners in decarbonising their homes. Hometree positions itself to challenge incumbents such as Homeserve and British Gas as the UK market for heat pumps expands. The company cites the UK target of installing 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028 while noting recent installation rates remain far below that level. Hometree operates as a residential energy services challenger, originally active in the home emergency insurance/home cover market providing emergency heating, plumbing and electrical repairs. The company has shifted to supporting the lifecycle of sustainable homeownership, helping homeowners install, manage and finance renewable energy solutions to run their homes in a carbon-neutral way. Hometree raised $46M in a Series B to fund expansion and broaden its business reach. The business is led by Founder and CEO Simon Phelan. As part of its growth strategy the company acquired BeWarm, a green home improvement financing platform. BeWarm partners with local installers to offer Heat Lease Plans, mortgage further advances, and Green Home Loans to homeowners. Hometree is a tech-first home services company that began in the home heating market and has expanded into home cover/home emergency insurance. The company offers challenger home cover products marketed with a “No Claims, No Price Hikes” message and has struck exclusive partnerships with Good Energy, Pure Planet and So Energy. Demand accelerated during the COVID-19 lockdown, the business says, and it expects year-on-year growth in 2020 to be greater than 300%. Hometree reports few customers cancelling direct debits during lockdown and that its engineers were classified as key workers to attend emergencies. The company plans to harness IoT and smart-home hardware to move from a reactive to a proactive customer experience. Founder & CEO Simon Phelan has said the objective over the next 2–3 years is to become the leading challenger brand in the home cover market.

Participated · Equity · Apr 2019

Butternut Box makes human-quality, freshly prepared meals for dogs, using meat and vegetables gently cooked and formulated with balanced vitamins and minerals. The company delivers meals direct to customers and donates a meal to a dog in need for every new sign-up. Since 2016 it has grown to feed hundreds of thousands of dogs across the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Poland. In 2024 Butternut Box began feeding cats, launching a Fresh cat food brand in Marro. The business has raised over £380 million since inception and is pursuing further geographic expansion. New capital will be used to scale manufacturing and support growth across existing and new European markets. Butternut Box prepares and ships healthy, human-quality meals, snacks and supplements for dogs, allowing owners to select goods for regular delivery as part of a subscription. Founded in London in 2016, it serves the U.K., Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland and Belgium. The company emphasizes "human-quality" ingredients that are tested and tasted by real people and offers health-focused options addressing issues such as high rates of overweight dogs in the U.K. (estimated at 65%). Prior to the latest financing it had raised a little over $110 million across several rounds. With the new £280 million ($354 million) funding the company says it plans to expand further into Europe. The business positions itself within a large pet food market (around $100 billion in 2022, with canine representing more than 40%). Butternut Box is a London-based fresh dog food company founded in 2016 that delivers personalized, human-grade fresh meals for dogs via a tech-driven platform. Its proprietary algorithm tailors portion sizes by calculating calories from age, weight, breed, activity level and body condition, then pre-portions daily servings. The company produces natural dog food and the article notes studies suggesting dogs fed a natural diet may live up to three years longer than those fed industrial canned products. Butternut Box is led by Kevin Glynn and David Nolan, both Goldman Sachs alumni. It competes in the U.K. market with Lily’s Kitchen, Tails.com and Natural Instinct. The company has just raised $55.4M (€47.2M) in a funding round to scale up operations. Butternut Box is a human-grade, cooked fresh dog food company that delivers personalised pre-cooked meals tailored to a dog’s size, age, breed, fitness and dietary needs. The company uses end-to-end technology to optimise efficiency from customer order through food preparation and delivery. Since launching in 2016, Butternut has produced more than 20 million fresh meals and is described as the largest fresh dog food manufacturer in Europe. The debt financing announced will support expansion across the UK and construction of a state-of-the-art facility to increase order capacity. Looking ahead, Butternut plans to expand into additional channels and product categories, including treats, supplements, toys and accessories. Founders David Nolan and Kevin Glynn emphasise the company’s purpose of improving pet health and scaling its operational footprint. Butternut Box is a UK-based fresh food delivery brand for dogs that produces human-grade, cooked meals with personalized dietary offerings and a digital approach. Founded in 2016 by Kevin Glynn and David Nolan, the company has produced more than 20 million meals for dogs across the UK. It received a strategic investment and intends to use the funds for operational enhancements and to grow and diversify across existing and new channels. Planned product expansion includes additional dog categories such as treats, supplements, toys and accessories. The company combines direct-to-consumer delivery with a digital platform to manage personalized diets and fulfillment.