Local sports education company secures £75k Sporting Capital funding

A Huddersfield-based sports education company has secured a five-figure funding boost that will help grow its reach across Yorkshire and the wider UK throughout 2019.

Sporting Age, based in Huddersfield, has secured a £75k injection from the £3m social investment loan fund, Sporting Capital.

The fund, formed by sport-for-social-impact advisor, Sporting Assets, and Access: the Foundation for Social Investment, exists to bridge the gap between charities and social enterprises.

Shaun Fox, founder and director at Sporting Age, said: “This investment will kick-start the second stage of business growth for Sporting Age, following the launch of our platform and campaign last October to help primary schools tackle obesity among pupils by increasing their levels of participation in physical activity.”

The news follows the announcement this week by education secretary Damian Hinds at education technology exhibition Bett 2019, of a £10m investment fund to create a single market place for education buyers in a bid to provide a “trusted, single edtech destination where people can go for products and services”.

Andrea Springthorpe, co-director, added: “Sporting Capital’s investment will enable us to scale the business over the next 12 months through the introduction of additional resource, increasing our marketing activity and developing the Sporting Age software platform further.

The Sporting Capital fund is backed by funding partners The Big Lottery Fund and Big Society Capital via the Access Foundation.