19 June 2017, LONDON: John Mathers, ex-CEO of the Design Council, and design entrepreneur Damon Bonser have called for more investment in early stage UK product design and manufacturing companies to give the UK a fighting chance of staying ahead of international competition post Brexit.
Despite the UK having the second largest design sector in the world, generating £72bn for the UK economy, equity funding remains low. Earlier this year, the British Design Fund was launched, an early stage investment fund for start-up UK product design and manufacturing companies, to address this shortfall. The fund has successfully reached its crowdfunding target and raised over £500k on Seedrs from over 160 investors, with over 100 companies registering for funding since launch.
Bonser said: “The UK has the second largest design sector in the world, yet there is an astonishing lack of equity funding into early stage product design and hardware businesses. Most product start-ups are relying upon innovation grants and crowdfunding platforms to get their first products off the ground – if they’re lucky. The British Design Fund aims to fill that gap and help entrepreneurs like me significantly increase their chance of success in such a thriving sector.”
“The British Design Fund has had a phenomenal reception, both from the investment community, but also from our partners and product companies looking for investment. Over 160 investors have invested into our fund, and we have had more than 100 enquiries from viable early stage product start-ups since going public.”
“The fund is open to further investment until the end of June 2017. We are calling out to the wider design community to raise awareness of this investment opportunity, as the more funds that are raised in this 1st round, the more great product businesses it can support and grow this year.”
Mathers added: “During my role at the Design Council, I saw how significantly fast the UK’s design sector is growing – not just in size but in its contribution to the UK economy. With almost £72bn generated in 2015 alone, it makes no sense why funding is so low for the sector. That’s what has driven me to help drive in the sector a change and join Damon in assisting Sapphire Capital Partners LLP in launching the British Design Fund.”
ENDS
For more information, contact:
Damon Bonser – damon@britishdesignfund.co.uk. 078999 66444
John Mathers – john@britishdesignfund.co.uk.
Bhavna Mistry – bhavna@velvetpr.biz – 0208 996 1802
About the British Design Fund
The British Design Fund is an early stage investment fund that specifically invests in, and provides support for, early stage UK product design and manufacturing companies.
The Fund seeks to work with extraordinary entrepreneurs who have scalable products and who are ready to accelerate growth into the retail space and build long term value and thriving, stand-out businesses.
The Fund is driven by a team with strong retail, product and investment experience and is managed by Sapphire Capital Partners LLP and is assisted by Twenty20 Mentoring Ltd.
Seedrs campaign page: https://www.seedrs.com/british-design-fund
