North East football merch site kicks off "global growth" with £1.6m investment

A football merchandise price comparison website has secured a £1.625m round of investment to support its expansion strategy and “global growth” plans.

FOOTY.COM, based in Durham, has received the funding from the North East Innovation Fund, as well as a selection of angel investors.

The company is backed by North East venture capital firm Northstar Ventures, and plans to use the funding injection to increase brand awareness, bolster its workforce and invest in its online technology.

It has said it is on course to achieve a £1m revenue run rate in the next 12 months and expects this to grow to £5m within the next three years.

Paul Lucherini, CEO, commented: “We believe we’re the only company globally comparing prices across the football world and the technology we have built is robust and innovative.

“We’ve got a great opportunity to grow a North East based business into something that millions of people will benefit from.

“The new funding we have acquired will help us reach the millions of football fans around the country, and the world.

“The plan is to build the awareness of FOOTY.COM as well as optimising the technology so that we become the go-to place when people look for new trainers and football-related merchandise.

“We’re planning for quick growth and ultimately have the opportunity to look at international markets such as the USA, Europe and Asia-PAC too.”

Ian Richards, director of Northstar Ventures, said: “We’re delighted to be supporting FOOTY.COM, we’ve been impressed by the team and the vision as well as the ability to scale the business.

“We look forward to working with them as they take their innovative platform further and grow the team.”

Sarah Slaven, interim managing director for Business Durham, added: “We’re pleased to have been able to help FOOTY.com by introducing them to a number of business networks.”

“We often find making the right connections is a key part of developing a successful business and are pleased that the networks we introduced them to have contributed to their expansion plans.

It is always exciting to see a County Durham business like FOOTY.com show their ambition for growth and we look forward to working with them in the future.“

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