Decorating etailer Coat has raised £3.5m in its latest round of fundraising.
The funding has been secured through Pembroke VCT, COAT’s original backers, which has invested another £2m as part of its commitment to champion new generation businesses led by entrepreneurial management founders. This has been further bolstered by a media-for-equity investment from Channel 4 Ventures and a community crowdraise through Seedrs.
Founded by Rob Abrahams and Rob Green in 2020, it has doubled its customer base in the last year to reach over 68,000 home decorators. Its growth is attributed to offering ‘digital native’ customers an end to end, easy, ethical, fast and personal buying experience that takes store paint buying out of the equation.
The new funding will be used for expansion plans into Europe, investment in product and further scaling its marketing efforts. In addition, Coat is bolstering its team across data, customer experience, trade sales and the senior leadership team with the appointment of a cfo and cmo.
‘This latest funding from deeply consumer-centric investors really fuels the fire for Coat. Having the support of our customers and fans via Seedrs is also an incredible community platform for business growth. We’re here to make waves in all the right areas, building a deeply sustainable company without the need for gimmicks,’ says Abrahams, Coat ceo.
‘We’re all bored of the heritage posh paints that our parents use. Coat is here representing a new breed of luxury that’s democratic, humble, and deeply conscious. We’re proving that you don’t need heritage to innovate, and customers are getting on board with our brand and retail model. This latest round of funding helps us bring the Coat way to more customers in the UK, and abroad. As the only climate positive paint company, we’ll continue to lead with sustainable products and practices, cementing our position as the premium brand for a new and conscious generation.’
‘We’re excited to back a game-changing brand like Coat. TV remains unrivalled in terms of reach and emotional connection between consumers and brands, so giving early stage high-growth brands like Coat access to the platform will contribute to their continued growth. The Coat brand aligns well with Channel 4’s reputation for being one of the UK’s leading TV channels for home renovation entertainment so will bring a relevant audience at scale to Coat’s progressive proposition,’ says Vinay Solanki, Channel 4 Ventures head.
