ClearlySo, a European impact investment bank, has completed a GBP1.1 million equity investment into Latimer Group, a youth co-creation agency, from a mix of institutional and individual investors.
Latimer is using the capital to accelerate the growth of its agency business, bring in senior hires and build out its technology platform, Bulbshare.
Latimer specialises in building communities that help drive rapid innovation for brands and partner organisations. In the last five years, the Latimer team has worked with over 50,000 young people to generate insights that lead to co-created content using unique methodology that puts consumers at the heart of the creative process. This approach to audience collaboration has been successful for high profile clients such as the BBC, the British Council and the Nike Foundation.
According to the UK Office for National Statistics, the current unemployment rate for 16-24 year olds in the UK is 13.6 per cent, and the unused digital skills of these unemployed young people are estimated to be worth GBP6.7 billion.
Since its inception in 2010, Latimer has created over 200 job opportunities for its youth network.
Matt Hay, co-founder at Latimer Group, says: “The team at ClearlySo supported us effectively throughout the whole process. The funding we secured is testament to our methodology of co-creation and highlights how having a genuine social goal as part of your business objectives is becoming not only popular but critical given the vulnerable world we now live in.”
Mike Mompi, investment manager at ClearlySo, adds: “The Latimer team are stellar – they continue to be pioneers in the co-creation space as they define new and impactful ways of creating and distributing the most relevant content on behalf of their clients. They have executed consistently and this investment will help them take the business to another level.”
