Octopus Investments has made a GBP2m investment from the GBP30m Octopus Capital for Enterprise Fund into Monkey Bizness, a UK operator of family entertainment centres.
The Octopus investment will be used to strengthen the business’ balance sheet and to finance additional new sites across the UK.
Monkey Bizness currently operates family entertainment centres in six locations – Lewes, Gosport, Poole, Sheffield, Stevenage and Hull – and the company aims to double the current portfolio size over the next three years.
Alistair Brew, director, Octopus Ventures, says: “We have been impressed with what management has achieved to date and believe that the Monkey Bizness offering can set the standard in the sector. This investment from the Octopus Capital for Enterprise Fund will enable the model to be rolled out more widely in the UK and present Monkey Bizness with the opportunity to become the leading player in the market.”
Alex Cheney, co-founder of Monkey Bizness, says: “As parents, we identified a need in the market for a quality offering at a reasonable price that provides something for all the family. We have grown the business to six sites in three years and believe we are well placed to capitalise on the embryonic and fragmented family entertainment market. The investment and support from the Octopus Capital for Enterprise Fund comes at a crucial time and we are looking forward to working with Octopus to take the business to the next level.”
The Capital for Enterprise Fund comprises GBP75m of equity, made up of GBP50m of government funds and an additional GBP25m from retail banks Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds TSB and RBS. The purpose of the fund is to provide equity and quasi equity of between GBP200,000 and GBP2m to small and medium size UK companies with viable business models and growth potential in need of long term capital. GBP60m of the fund is managed by Octopus Investments and Maven Capital Partners UK (formerly Aberdeen Asset Managers). Each company oversees the management of a GBP30m fund.
