Birmingham-based Buckt, has secured £350,000 investment from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) managed by Midven, part of the Future Planet Capital Group to create new jobs.
The MEIF funding will allow Buckt to increase the quality of service and expand into new marketing avenues to increase its subscriber base. The company will employ more partnership managers to help it scale its supply chain and consolidate its position in key cities.
As the UK’s only tickets and activities subscription service, Buckt already serves more than 4,500 customers across Birmingham, Manchester, London, and Liverpool. The company handpicks the best activities in each region and sends its subscribers five mystery tickets at a fixed price every month. With events that are quality-assessed by the Buckt team, the company offers users experiences worth more than three times face value and overcomes the “paradox of choice” faced by consumers today.
According to the Deloitte Leisure Consumer Report 2021, consumers in the UK spend 21% of their income on leisure activities. Being a unique player in the experience market, Midven saw Buckt’s potential for growth and quickly identified the company as a good investment candidate.
The Midlands-based venture capital firm believes that Buckt has an opportunity to capture market share as consumer preferences move away from material possessions and towards creating memories and social currency.
Giovanni Finocchio, Investment Director at Midven, said, “As the country emerges from lockdown, we’ve seen the pent-up demand for entertainment, and Buckt provides this in spades. The subscription model provides value to customers and reliable bookings for venues bouncing back from the toughest trading conditions in living memory. We are looking forward to working with Dan and the team.”
Daniel Bridgewater, CEO of Buckt, said, “We’re delighted to be continuing our journey to become market leaders with Midven’s backing. The investment will allow us to expand our team, level-up our product and significantly scale our operations. By improving the quality of service, we offer, we want to solidify our place in key cities across the country to create ground for expansion in the future. We believe our valuable partnership with Midven will allow us to reach our goals.”
Mark Wilcockson, Senior Investment Manager at the British Business Bank, added,
"Buckt offers an innovative approach to the leisure and hospitality industry and the MEIF funding will support the company’s expansion, while also creating new jobs in the Midlands. The MEIF continues to support innovative companies looking to unlock growth opportunities and I would encourage other Midlands-based businesses to consider MEIF funding.”
Vernon Hogg, Access to Finance Manager, Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) Growth Hub, said,"GBSLEP Growth Hub provides a free service to SMEs across the region who wish to raise finance to grow their business. I supported the Buckt team by preparing them and identifying potential pots of funding. As they scale up their operations, I hope that they can continue to work with the Growth Hub and take advantage of our business support services.”