Cuckoo is an internet broadband provider. The company claims that incumbent internet providers treat customers with poor customer service, high prices, and complicated contracts. Cuckoo aims to change this by providing users with fair and transparent prices, simple contracts, high-quality routers, and responsive customer service. The company is currently developing its website and billing engine ahead of launching with its first customers in the second quarter of 2020. Cuckoo's business is in the pre-revenue stage. It expects to start generating revenue in May/June 2020 when they launch their broadband service. Cuckoo will use 50% of the investment towards paying salaries to staff, 25% as technology development fees, 10% as professional fees, 5% as rent, and 10% as AOB. Cuckoo's exit strategy is via a trade sale or listing in the United Kingdom.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£69,622
Flooring Hut is a UK-based technology company that aims to disrupt the UK flooring industry valued at £2bn in 2017. Touted as the smarter way to buy new carpets & flooring, Flooring Hut has made 24,000+ online sales across domestic and trade sectors by building a huge network of independent installers. The company's USP is to connect a disjointed market and allow customers access to value products, samples, leading brands and a suitable, vetted local installer to perform the work. The key to its success to date has been a consistent and reliable mix of pricing, availability, and selection. Till date, the company has 786 registered trade customers, 140+ Flooring Hut Installer Network of members, and 12,000 products available for sale. With the proceeds, the company will develop its self-service platform functionality for customers and expand its reach on social media and affiliate marketing.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£57,077
Outfts is a fashion marketplace that serves retailers, influencers, and consumers merging the traditional marketplace concept with expanding social features. Users can shop via storefront, creator profiles, shoppable social feed, or search and product listings. Outfts is focused on 'Female First' creators. Outfts claims to bring together a growing collection of more than 55 retailers, combining over 3000 brands and over 1 million products. The company live tested its private beta, with three carefully selected clients namely, H&M, Urban Outfitters and MATCHESFASHION, and multiple influencers. It has acquired over 50 more high-profile clients, including Coach, Kenzo, MANGO, Harvey and many more. Outfts says it will use the investment to hire key personnel, manage operational expenses, manage marketing initiatives, oversee its app development, and expand outside of the European market, beginning with the US.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£198,047
Zoom 1hr is a hyperlocal last-mile delivery service delivering food, convenience and retail goods within one hour. The company is currently operating in West Midlands, Wales, and bordering English counties. It aims to become a contender in the online food delivery market that is projected to reach over £5 billion in 2021. Zoom 1hr has witnessed 70,000 app downloads, processed over 280,000 orders through its platform, and gained an annual turnover of £665,000 in 2019-2020 at an order growth rate of 108%. Zoom 1hr argues that its list of partners consists of local, national and international stores including Subway and KFC. It has also secured a contract with Co-Op to be its third national last-mile delivery partner, currently servicing 61 stores. The company will use the investment for New Area Mobilisation (NAM), product and website development, key hires, and team expansion.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£595,084
BEEN London is a next-generation sustainable accessory brand which converts waste into beautiful products, for customers all around the world. They aim to change the way people make, perceive and buy beautiful things and want to make everyone part of the solution, involving local artisans and people with learning disabilities in the growing economy of sustainable fashion. Till now, they have successfully shipped orders to 18 countries worldwide, achieved profitability from Year 1 and launched 17 different products including backpacks, laptop cases and tote bags. BEEN is a UK FUTURE 20 startup, a finalist at the Sustainable Lifestyle Awards, and a profitable company looking to scale up into a global, game-changing sustainable brand. BEEN have been approved for investment by London Fashion Fund. With the funds, they want to accelerate sales, increase margins and turn other streams of waste into new incredible products.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£325,589
Livia's is a brand that makes 100% plant-based, natural and indulgent treats. The company develops the recipes in-house and sells through retailers such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s & Boots, as well as, through online channels like Amazon and its website. The company has sold almost 7 million treats and has 200,000+ online followers. Their products cater to those with allergies and intolerances. They have seen sales increase by over 1,000%+ during the lockdown. Livia's will use the investment for new product development, grow its e-commerce platform, enhance its marketing and sales team, and scale its operations.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£1,935,322
GENEROUS APE is an online shopping destination for the style-led conscious shopper. The company asserts that the word 'APE' is an acronym for 'Animal, People and Environment' and is targeted towards sustainable shopping. GENEROUS APE argues that it has completed eight weeks of beta-testing with an average of 450 visitors showing interest in its website and 47.62% being returning customers. The company asserts that the average basket value was £89 with partnerships signed with 80 style-led sustainable brands. GENEROUS APE onboarded 'DHL GO GREEN' as its primary delivery associate and partnered with World Land Trust on the 'Buy an Acre' scheme to facilitate wildlife protection in perpetuity. The company will use the investment for optimising marketing, boost organic growth channels and paid media, improve the consumer experience, and develop a personalised dashboard for each customer.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£208,525
Faizpay is a financial technology entity that provides a cost-effective alternative to card payments in-store and online. The company facilitates account-to-account payments from a consumer to a merchant via 'Open Banking' as per the European Revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) and bespoke direct Application Programming Interface (APIs) with financial institutions, when available. It asserts that their online tool provides seamless integration with a retailer’s e-commerce system including plug-ins and Software Development Kit (SDKs) for WordPress, Android and iOS. FaizPay states it also allows merchants to offer first-time and regular discounts that automatically apply to transactions. The company has 71 fully registered merchants with 95 registered terminals. FaizPay has onboarded the nine biggest UK banks and signed notable entities like Monzo, Revolut and Starling. The company will use the investment to grow its team, hire additional tech development and sales personnel, apply for an e-money license in the UK, and seek relevant financial authorisation to provide its services in the European Union (EU).
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£536,714
Future You Cambridge is a company that sells clinically proven health supplements directly to consumers. Since its launch in 2016, it has sold products to over 100,000 customers. The company's Lactolycopene product received a patent in December 2017 and its Fertility+ product was also covered by the European Journal of Nutrition in a clinical paper and was shown to have resulted in a 40% increase in male fertility. The company's offerings now stand at 24 products, including the popular CBD product and its first product for pets, Curcupet-K9. Additionally, the company won the 2018 Cambridge Service Excellence and Independent High Growth Business of the Year Awards and has 5-star ratings on Trustpilot. They will use the investment to scale up direct advertising campaigns, expand its product range by more than 10 new products, and invest in their website to make it more intuitive.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£655,011
easyHire is a cloud-based technology platform that deals in event and construction equipment rentals. It possesses over 3 million pieces of inventory. easyHire is operating in the £23 billion equipment rental industry in Europe and aims to be the category leader in it. The company raised £1.5 million from leading investors and built a revenue-generating Software as a Service (SaaS) platform. It is backed by renowned entrepreneurs Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and Fabio Cannavale, as well as, venture capital firm Pilabs. The company owns brand exclusivity for the easyToolhire and easyEventhire franchises across 30 territories. It continued to strengthen its business during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. easyHire will use the investment to open up new markets, invest in product development, and boost its marketing initiatives.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£520,161
