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
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
Peckwater Brands (PB) is a company engaged in the growing cloud kitchen/delivery business that runs virtual restaurant brands from the kitchens of existing restaurants. It argues that restaurants need to pay high street rents and staff wages no matter how many diners visit. Nearly 5,000 restaurants have closed in the UK since 2015 due to not being able to fulfil these tasks. PB aims to change this scenario. It helps restaurant partners use their existing staff and kitchen capacity better, and help keep struggling businesses running. The company received more than 10,000 customer orders through Deliveroo and Uber Eats. It witnessed more than £250,000 in customer sales since June 2020 and is spread across London, Manchester, Leeds, and Coventry. PB has launched four brands with four more in the pipeline. It will use the investment to get more partners, launch more brands, and acquire more customers.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£232,208
Prepaired is a global platform for university students to learn from and teach each other via video calling. Students can post a study request on the portal with the questions they have regarding a subject, and others can offer to explain it via a one-on-one video call. The company asserts that its technology is an ideal platform in the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic allowing students to share notes and chat on classroom syllabi. Prepaired has tied up with GlobalExam, an e-learning content provider, to further its mission of remote teaching. It will use 67% of the investment in product development, 12% in sales and marketing, and 21% as operations cost.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£115,209
Doc2UK is a specialist UK medical recruitment and candidate support platform. Based in London, the platform places qualified doctors in the National Health Scheme (NHS) roles around the United Kingdom. The British Medical Association (2018) reported that patient care is at risk due to a critical shortage of doctors across multiple medical disciplines. At present, the UK only has 24 medical schools to fill this gap, whilst India, in comparison, has 468 medical schools, with 68,000 doctors graduating each year. Moreover, uncertainty about the status of EU nationals after Brexit, changes to immigration policies, and the impact of changing language testing requirements for international nurses have made this crisis worse. This situation necessitates recruiting doctors from overseas an important endeavour. This is where Doc2UK aims to become a key player and ensure that lack of medical personnel doesn't disrupt any medical services. The company is seeking an investment of up to £300,000 which will be used to develop the platform with more features, expand the team, marketing and sales.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
Withheld
PANTSANDSOCKS.COM is an online retailer and subscription service that helps men buy branded underwear and socks. They state their mission is to be a convenient, one-stop-shop for top brands in the market. PANTSANDSOCKS.COM argues that it is an ‘Authorised Stockist’ of 16+ leading brands including Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger. The company claims to have fulfilled over 2,000 orders, welcomed over 100,000 unique website visitors to its site, achieved a 4.6/5, ‘Excellent’ Trustpilot rating, and signed up over 4,000 people to its database. The company has integrated with Amazon and Google Shopping to provide additional revenue streams. They state they will use the investment to achieve 100,000 unique visitors per month by the end of Q3 2021, meet its business targets, and continue to develop its internal capabilities at a sustainable rate.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£205,504
Big Night is an online food delivery service that partners with selected independent food vendors to deliver exceptional meals to customers at home, in their office or wherever they choose. The company asserts that 61% of non-millennials find delivery overall frustrating. Big Night aims to change this scenario. It has signed on ten notable restaurants and has ten more in the immediate pipeline. Onboarded restaurants include Two Lights, Luca, The Laughing Heart, Sager + Wilde, Royale, Levan, AngloThai, Legare and Mangal2. Over 4,000 people have ordered via Big Night since its launch. The company will use 25% of the investment for operations, 25% for marketing, and 50% to improve the Big Night platform.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£274,168
Nooro makes cannabidiol (CBD) snack bars. Company founder J.D. Furlong asserts that blending CBD and certain nootropics lead to better cognitive functions in individuals. Nooro also argues that it is the UK's first CBD snack bar seller that is plant-based and gluten-free. The company's products are stocked across 250 retail outlets, cafes, gyms, and delis across the UK. Nooro pivoted to Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) sales during COVID-19 to get better margins. It invested in creating a business model with four distinct revenue streams with 60% earnings coming via e-commerce D2C sales, 15% via digital affiliate sales, 15% via direct sales to partners, and 10% via wholesalers. The company will use the investment to launch an additional three new flavours by February 2021 and grow its business across different verticals.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£235,819
Fortu Wealth is a Business-to-Business (B2B) Software as a Service (SaaS) solution for private banks, wealth managers, external asset managers & multi-family offices. The company aims to be a segment leader in the $158.3 trillion personal wealth market. It has developed and launched the beta version of its Fortu Wealth mobile app and a desktop version of the application with essential features during the first three quarters of 2020. It has also signed partnership agreements with top service providers to provide facilities like Foreign Exchange, Anti-Money Laundering (AML), and Know Your Client (KYC). Fortu Wealth will use the investment to enable further product development, manage operating expenses, and invest in customer acquisition.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£500,045
Studio Pictures Limited is a UK based production company that specialises in the development of high-quality British film and TV projects. The company's interest predominantly lies within the British film and television industry that can be created within budget ranging from £1 million - £15 million. The company has established relationships with studio houses such as Warner Bros., Sony Pictures and Lionsgate and aims to build upon projects that can be made into a franchise. Their production, A Steet Cat Named Bob, went on to be distributed by Sony Pictures in the UK and had a Royal Premiere in London. Studio Pictures Limited will consider putting up to a maximum of 20% of the budget for each project as equity, on a case by case basis, subject to company reserves. With the proceeds, the company will grow and scale the business. It will become a tenant at Twickenham Studios in West London and look to profitable emerging markets, i.e. streaming, animation and interactive movies to become one of the leading UK production companies.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
Withheld
