Member Article

This online crafts marketplace has just secured a massive £26m funding round

London-based online crafts marketplace, LoveCrafts, has announced it has just secured a £26m funding round led by a previous investor in Skyscanner.

The business, which mixes an ecommerce marketplace, social network and community for makers, has received investment from Scottish Equity Partners (SEP), who invested in Skyscanner before it was sold and have an investment in Matchesfashion.com, alongside fellow heavyweight VCs Balderton and Highland Europe.

As part of the investment, Stuart Paterson, who is a Partner at SEP, will join LoveCrafts’ board.

The business currently boasts millions of users across 140 countries despite only launching in 2012 and has achieved a slew of industry recognition this year with inclusion in the FT1000 and Sunday Times Tech Track 100, as well as being inducted into Tech City’s Future Fifty programme.

Commenting following the closure of the funding round, Edward Griffith, Founder at LoveCrafts commented: “It’s always been our goal to connect makers, designers and creatives across the world in a social and accessible way, and this investment will help us to do this in more markets, with greater scale and better tools.

“We are delighted that SEP, together with our current backers, share our vision for the business, and confidence in its future.”

Griffith, alongside fellow Co-Founders Cherry Freeman and Nigel Whiteoak, founded the company four years ago with the aim of building a community and marketplace for makers, with users able to post their creations online and buy supplies and designs from other crafters.

The company has now grown its headcount to 150 members of staff and doubled its revenue each year after embarking on international expansion, moves which will be further supported following this investment round as LoveCrafts looks to realise its goal of becoming a $100bn crafting marketplace.

Laurence Garrett, partner at Highland Europe, was hopeful about the firm’s chances and said: “LoveCrafts has demonstrated impressive growth over the last four years and we look forward to continuing our support for the dynamic company as it expands into new international markets and launches new crafts which will introduce a whole new group of committed users to the platform.”