Led · Equity · Feb 2024

Vegetarian Express supplies vegetarian and vegan ingredients to chefs across the UK and provides plant-based ideas and menu inspiration. The company is dedicated exclusively to plant-based food and works with customers to create plant-based menus. It is led by Managing Director Dave Webster and is a certified B Corporation. Vegetarian Express intends to use new funds to build on its expansion into Ireland, enhance operational capabilities, support its expanding customer base, and strengthen its digital offering. The business was previously owned by Bridges Fund Management before the current transaction.

Led · Equity · Jul 2022

YorkTest offers home-to-laboratory food sensitivity testing, with each test including a 30-minute consultation with an expert nutritional therapist and accepted by HSA and FSA. The company has more than 40 years of experience in home health testing and operates in both the US and the UK. Revenues have grown significantly over the past two years, reflecting rising consumer interest in health, nutrition and home testing. The new investment will fund expansion of its product range in the US and further investment in laboratory equipment. Management has also signaled investment in cloud-based technology alongside laboratory expertise and scientific capabilities to support growth.

Led · Equity · Dec 2019

The Climbing Hangar operates nine bouldering gyms in the UK, having started in a Liverpool warehouse in 2011. Its sites combine climbing facilities with food and drink, retail outlets, sport and social events. CEO Ged MacDomhnaill said he wants to accelerate growth and widen climbing’s appeal through the use of data and updated technologies. The company has received more than £20m from investment group Verlinvest to support overseas expansion. Verlinvest said it will actively seek M&A opportunities with like‑minded partners to build the business internationally. The raise comes amid a growing indoor-climbing market: around 1m people try indoor climbing annually, some 100,000 climb at least twice a month, over 75% prefer indoor facilities, and London now has more than 50 centres. The Climbing Hangar is a five-site indoor rock climbing operator founded in 2011 that focuses on access, community and inclusivity to lower the price barrier to climbing. Its centres serve about 12,000 climbers per month, roughly 4,000 of whom are members, and it employs around 110 staff. Current sites include two in Liverpool and one each in London, Swansea and Plymouth, with a Sheffield site nearing completion. The company raised £4.0m to further develop its facilities and expand venues across the UK. Leadership aims to double the company’s size within 18 months and build another five centres in that timeframe. The business emphasizes bringing climbing to people of all ages and backgrounds to promote healthier, more connected lives. The Climbing Hangar operates indoor climbing centres offering facilities, coaching and on-site cafés aimed at social climbers, families and elite athletes. The business says it provides affordable access to superior facilities for a growing community of climbers and novices. TCH completed its best ever trading year, achieving over 150% revenue growth. Since NVM's initial investment in 2018 the company expanded to four locations (Liverpool, London, Swansea and Plymouth), employs over 85 people and welcomes over 16,000 climbers through the doors every month, and has announced a fifth Hangar in South Liverpool. The additional funds are intended to facilitate continued site roll-out and ongoing investment in infrastructure and personnel. TCH also sponsors two‑time Bouldering World Champion Shauna Coxsey MBE and plans to offer market-leading coaching and classes to capitalise on rising interest in the sport.

Led · Equity · Dec 2019

CurrentBody is an online retailer specialising in home-use beauty and electrical health devices, offering anti-ageing, acne-treatment, facial cleansing and hair-removal products that use clinically proven technologies. Its catalogue includes partnerships with brands such as Tripollar, NuFACE and Smoothskin and it is a global strategic partner for L’Oreal’s Clarisonic range. The business has built 11 own-language websites, launched on Tmall in China, opened a London shop-in-shop in House of Fraser and signed a joint venture in China with distributor Thakral. CurrentBody ships to over 120 countries and completed its strongest year to date, going live with its 11th international site. Revenues have doubled year-on-year over the past five years. The company plans to grow its product range, expand partnerships and enter further territories while scaling its team and operations. Currentbody is a Manchester, UK-based e-commerce business selling home-use beauty devices. The platform retails devices from brands such as Clarisonic, NuFACE, SmoothSkin, Tria, Wellbox, iluminage and FOREO. It offers a live web chat function to give personal expert advice, support staff, and 'how to' videos and other content. The company was co-founded by Laurence Newman and Andrew Showman. Currentbody raised £5M in growth funding and intends to use the proceeds to accelerate internal and international expansion.

Participated · Series A · Sep 2019

Voxpopme provides a SaaS platform for business leaders to collect and analyze real-time, consumer-recorded video feedback to inform brands, products, and experiences. Founded in 2013 and led by CEO Dave Carruthers, the company counts customers such as Airbnb, Clorox, Mars Wrigley, and Mondelez. The platform is positioned to help enterprises gather qualitative video insights at scale. Voxpopme said it will use new capital to further enhance its platform and to expand its global team. The company is actively recruiting for additional positions across its Birmingham, UK, and Salt Lake City offices. No revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the article. Voxpopme develops video insight and analytics technology for the market research and customer experience markets. The company provides video capture and analytics solutions and has completed technical integrations with six market research platforms to broaden distribution. Its client base includes blue-chip customers such as Microsoft, Accenture and Verizon. Voxpopme plans to use new funding to expand its technical and commercial teams with hires across its UK, US and Australia offices. Founded in 2013 by Dave Carruthers, Andrew Barraclough and Tom Williams and based in Birmingham, UK, the company has grown via partnership agreements and platform integrations. The firm recently appointed Jon Carbone as vice president of VideoCX. Voxpopme provides a video insight platform that lets brands and agencies capture customer videos at speed, analyze at scale and share insights. Founded in 2013 by CEO Dave Carruthers, the company counts clients such as Microsoft, Tesco, Verizon and Clorox. It currently employs 30 people across Birmingham, Salt Lake City and Sydney. The company intends to use the new funding to enhance its end-to-end video insight technology. Voxpopme plans to recruit 15 additional staff across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Management says it will expand globally over the next 12 months.