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 $60 billion global premium whisky market. WPD has received 'Gold Awards' from The Wizards of Whisky World Whisky Awards. It has come out with programs to monetise its maturing whisky including its Cask Sales program, Temperance Club membership and its Prologue 2.1 release 2-year aged single malt spirit, that has been received with positive feedback. WPD has also been awarded visitor business in The Peak District, which receives 13 million+ visitors per annum, boosting its Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) model. It will use the investment to grow its business across different verticals.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£1,301,320
Hemspan states that it designs bio-based building systems and products for construction by combining modern methods, technology and hemp to produce net-zero carbon solutions. The company argues that every time an average house is built, the CO2 emitted by the manufacture, transport and assembly of the materials used is around 50 to 60 tonnes. Hemspan says that one hectare of UK-grown industrial hemp can absorb 11 tonnes of CO2 each year with regeneratively farmed hemp capable of sequestering a further 6 tonnes per hectare of CO2 into the soil each year. Hemspan intends to activate significant demand for hemp farming in the UK and develop processing technologies to reduce reliance on imports and enable large scale manufacturing of bio-based cladding and insulation products that spin out of R&D programmes. It asserts that the global industrial hemp market is expected to grow at 25% CAGR reaching US$ 27 billion by 2028. It aims to be a contender in this segment.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£200,000
Almond provides businesses and consumers with a method to understand their carbon footprint and use the company's proprietary offset tools to become carbon neutral. Consumers can earn Almond Tokens when purchasing products from Almond's partnering sustainable brands. The Almond Tokens can be spent on their website The Almond certification label on products enables them to demonstrate their commitment to protecting the environment, consumer health and building a better society for all. The core idea is to build a market that's geared towards sourcing and selling sustainable products. The green economy market is worth $4 trillion. The offset market was $300 million in 2018, having grown over 140-fold in 10 years. Almond seeks to be a market leader in this domain. It has also partnered with reputed institutions such as the World Wildlife Fund, and the Stockholm Environment Institute (carbon analytics). With the investment, the company aims to further the popularity of its existing Almond App and have more people join its ecosystem.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£522,540
Ruby Violet (RV) creates ice cream flavours, vegan sorbets and iced delights. It asserts that it has grown from a market stall in 2011, to two parlours and an accompanying vintage van, tricycle and trolley, almost doubling its revenue from 2016 to 2019. RV aims to become a contender in the ice cream industry that is worth £1.4 billion in the UK and £44 billion worldwide. It asserts that 90% of the packaging used by the company is either recyclable or compostable. It has featured in press entities like The Times, The Guardian, Vogue and the BBC, to name a few. RV has also collaborated with noted gin company, Gin Mare, creating gin ice cream and sorbet specific to their infused botanicals. RV's clients include Costa Coffee, Nike, McVitie's, and Moet & Chandon. It will use 75% of the investment for capital expenditure, 15% for marketing activities, and 10% for hiring key personnel.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£357,173
Hill and friends is a luxury handbag retailer. They design and supply high quality women’s bags. Emma and Georgia was the creative and brand directors that helped mulberry gain their success from increasing their revenues from £51m in 2008 to 169m in 2012.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£318,231
Gozney specialises in the designing and manufacturing of premium and creative stone & fire ovens for the commercial and home use. The company has invented the world’s first portable stone pizza oven, 'Roccbox' and made $1.2M pre-sales in 45 days. In 2018-19, it has received revenue of £5.4M and EBITDA of £0.2M. Gozney ovens are used by leading restaurant chains including MOD, Franco Manca and many more. Recently, the company has been ranked at No. 12 in the 5th annual Sunday Times WorldFirst SME Export Track 100. Gozney has witnessed a growth of 148% in international sales over the past 2 years. Furthermore, it aims to launch new products and accelerate expansion into overseas territories.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£1,716,200
Ripple is the UK's first-ever clean energy ownership platform. The company aims to enable households and businesses to own new wind farms and solar parks and have the electricity they generate supplied to their home or business premises via the grid. It endeavours to become a segment leader in the $11 trillion global wind and solar market. Ripple has overseen £1 million+ transactions on its platform to date. It has featured in publications like The Times, CNBC, Independent, Business Green, and This Is Money. It has also garnered 5300+ pre-registered customers. The company will use 40% of the investment for marketing purposes, 40% for projects and business overheads, 10% for Non-UK projects, and 10% for website and application development.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£442,282
In business since 1955, a sustainable leather goods retailer that specialises in natural finish, soft touch and fashionable products. Lakeland Leather runs 15 retail stores, that are all profitable, an e-commerce website and have recently created their wholesale division.
In the 2017/18 financial year, revenue was £9.6m, of which 7% of the group's sales were from goods sold online and this figure is increasing rapidly. Funds will be used to further develop Lakeland Leather's e-commerce facilities to meet growing customer demand for high-quality leather products and become a market leader in the industry.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£112,000
Sauce Shop is a craft condiment brand which offers customers a variety of fresh-tasting, innovative and punchy flavoured sauces. The company's products have received 2000 5-star reviews on their online shop, and total revenue is over £340k (EBITDA -£13.5k - July 2019). The revenue growth of the company is over 100% YOY. The brand is now stocked in Sainsbury's, Harvey Nichols, Whole Foods Market and many independent food retailers across the UK. Its Tomato Ketchup won a 2-star Great Taste Award. The company will use the funds to expand operational capacity, grow its team and to facilitate a move in premises to ensure that they can continue to meet demand.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£254,270
Troubadour is a London-based menswear brand specialising in designing minimalist bags & accessories by combining performance design with a clean & modern aesthetic feel. The company has delivered its products to 60+ wholesalers. It is backed by Pembroke VCT, a luxury-focused venture capital firm based in London. Troubadour is planning to work with non-traditional retailers including Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, and Equinox. It has also collaborated with many world-renowned brands such as British tailors 'Thom Sweeney' and British essentials brand 'Sunspel' that is famous for clothing James Bond. The company has also been a case study for classes at the Harvard Business School. With the investment, the company will support sales growth to its customers and retail partners and also fund working capital requirements from its forecast growth plan.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£621,240
