Kingwood-on-Thames Ltd is a company run by experienced businessman James Slater who is part of a truly enterprising family whose interests include amphibious tours in central London and the manufacture of amphibious machines. He’s spearheading the acquisition of River Thames Boat Hire Ltd – a riverboat charter company with an annual turnover of £100,000.
After extensive research, James has identified several areas of the Thames Boat Hire business which can be improved on. Having singled out each of the weaknesses, Kingwood-on-Thames will remodel the business to strengthen it from the bottom up, creating new partnerships, enhancing facilities and delivering additional marketing to initially increase the number of annual charters from 50 to 250 over four years. This represents a conservative 35% of the boats potential usage (the company has outlined 728 charters per annum as part of its forecasts).
It is expected this will take sales from £100,000 to £1.25m in 4 years.
A £300,000 equity deal for 25% of the company is available to investors. James himself will be investing £100,000 of the total amount alongside Funding Tree investors. You can join James as he endeavors to turn a steady, under-appreciated charter company into a more profitable, sought-after business.
Plans in brief:
- James will hire a dedicated, passionate manager to handle the business and take it from zero marketing to multiple marketing techniques and also drive the creation of new partnerships to increase brand awareness.
- A new website featuring efficient contact and booking systems is currently in development by Somerset Website Services. It will be launched in the next few weeks under the Kingwood-on-Thames Ltd (KTL) banner.
- New online advertising and increased social media activity and email marketing campaigns.
- The remodeling of the business to incorporate high value clients as well as standard clients.
This charter business has a unique selling point in its vessel’s historical significance. The Kingswood vessel was one of the 861 ‘little ships’ used for the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk in Operation Dynamo between 27 May and 4 June 1940. (www.adls.org.uk). The boat is in excellent condition having completed a maintenance check and survey in spring 2014 by Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£31,100
WorkClub converts under-used real estate into productive co-working areas and provides an affordable membership for remote workers across London. The company has 500+ members, 800+ guests and 25 WorkClub’s spaces in London. WorkClub has also secured many venues across the UK with Young's, Hippo Inns and more. Furthermore, it is listed as a ‘Top 10 startup to watch’ by TechRound, has 4.8* rating on TrustPilot and, acquired 30 businesses to offer discounted WorkClub memberships to members including ZipCar, PureGym. The company will use the funds to develop WorkClub’s technology and to expand its offering into other key UK cities.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£342,820
Super U is a health food brand, creating great-tasting and nutritious superfood blends and providing a natural, innovative & convenient way of consuming superfoods, without costing the Earth. The company has 3500+ online consumers and, the social audience has risen to over 8,500 followers. Additionally, Super U has been a finalist for Start-Up Business of the Year and Health & Beauty Business of the Year 2019 - for the Great British Entrepreneur Awards. The funds will be used for growth, marketing and export strategies.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£160,110
Agent House is an operational system and platform (OSP) offering business administration and marketing to independent property professionals for an affordable monthly licence fee.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£66,766
Tick Tock is a profitable business, which was established in 2014 and their aim is to create amazing experiences for their guests using immersive entertainment. They are looking to launch their unique product in a London venue with free-roaming virtual reality experiences.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£2,410
Windsor & Eton Brewery (WAEB) is an award-winning Royal Warrant holding brewery. WAEB brews over 1.4 million pints each year and is on a mission to make beer Windsor's top attraction. WAEB has won over 70 national, international, and regional beer awards. It claims to be a supplier of exclusive bottled beers to the House of Commons, London’s Shakespeare’s Globe, and over 200 pubs, bars, and hotels. The company made over £600,000 of direct sales to consumers through its brewery tap, shop, and home deliveries in 2020. WAEB argues that it is running five successful bars in and near Windsor, serving nearly 7.6 million visitors per year. WAEB created the Windsor beer festival and is a member of the Worshipful Company of Brewers. They intend to use the investment to grow its estate from its existing five venues to twenty by 2026, start with a major new bar in the heart of Windsor, and buy a canning line on-site to ensure fresher beers for its customers.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£625,931
A fishing gear developer helping fishers increase their catch rate whilst protecting marine life caused by current fishing practices. Fishtek has produced 4 products to function alongside existing fishing gear and is already in use by companies across 35 countries worldwide, with 4 more products currently in the development stage. Investment is sought to further develop, distribute and commercialise these new products.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£900,000
Easy-Fit Bedding has created a cutting-edge and innovative bedding product that can open from all four sides allowing easy access when fitting one's duvet inside the duvet cover. The company set to transform bed making, globally. It is sold online in the UK and, it is also available in the USA, Asia and Europe. Easy-Fit Duvet Covers have a unique design with registered rights in Europe and a US patent. The company has won Best Fitted-Bedding Retailer 2018 by CV Magazine. With the proceeds, the company will schedule to appear on a long-term nationwide TV Campaign, aired on popular TV channels, ensuring continued development and growth in sales.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£21,590
PLAYin CHOC is an ethical UK manufacturer that makes chocolate and plastic-free toys sustainably. The company asserts that it currently has a range of 19 products that are plastic-free, organic, vegan certified, and free from 14 allergens. It aspires to become a contender in the global chocolate with toy market segment that is worth 4 billion USD per annum. PLAYin CHOC claims that its distributors have access to over 600,000 shops across 30 countries. PLAYin CHOC points out that it is listed with 3 global companies, Sysco, Ocado and Gategroup, and is in early-stage conversations with 'Top 5' supermarkets in the UK. The company has also won 18 multi-national awards and exports its products to 30 countries. It argues that its UK factory has the capacity to produce 33,000 bars in 8 hours. PLAYin CHOC will use the investment to scale its business across different verticals.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£364,495
White Peak Distillery (WPD) is a whisky distillery that aims to change the way whisky is made and create authentic flavours. It has so far invested £1.4 million in tried and tested plant equipment producing 400,000 bottles of maturing whisky. The company aims to become a contender in the $60 billion global premium whisky market. WPD has received 'Gold Awards' from The Wizards of Whisky World Whisky Awards. It has come out with programs to monetise its maturing whisky including its Cask Sales program, Temperance Club membership and its Prologue 2.1 release 2-year aged single malt spirit, that has been received with positive feedback. WPD has also been awarded visitor business in The Peak District, which receives 13 million+ visitors per annum, boosting its Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) model. It will use the investment to grow its business across different verticals.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£1,301,320
