A meal-kits business backed by fitness guru Joe Wicks has been boosted by a $100m (£74m) injection from Japanese investment giant Softbank.
Gousto, which was founded by former investment bankers Timo Boldt and James Carter in 2012, secured another $50m in debt from HSBC and Barclays, to accelerate growth.
Chief executive Timo Boldt said: “We just want to accelerate the momentum that we have, all the mega-trends are in our favour.”
The deal values the company at $1.7bn, a significant uplift on the previous round in Nov 2020 of $1bn, boosting existing investors’ paper fortunes.
Mr Boldt said Softbank would only get a “single digit percentage” stake in the company, joining a roster of existing shareholders including Unilever Ventures, British Growth Fund and Mr Wicks.
Mr Boldt added: “We see ourselves as a data company that loves food. This deal made sense on so many levels. We’re delighted.”
Softbank’s two Vision Funds have backed a string of companies, including digital bank Revolut.
Mr Boldt said Gousto has been profitable for some time and at present it “made no sense” to explore a stock market listing, the subject of recent speculation.
The new capital will be partly used to fund a fifth automated fulfilment centre near Birmingham, unlocking 40pc more capacity for Gousto. It already has four other depots in Essex, Lincolnshire and Cheshire.
It has been on a recruitment spree in recent years, with plans to double its workforce to 2,000 employees, having benefited from a pandemic-induced rise in demand for its recipes. In the first quarter of 2021, it sold more than 25 million meals alone.
Many restaurants, forced to close during pandemic lockdowns, turned to delivery services and meal-kits in a bid to survive, while specialist meal-kit companies thrived. Hello Fresh, which is listed in Germany, has seen its share price triple since Covid hit Europe.
Gousto posted revenues of £189m in its 2020 financial year, up from £83m during the prior 12 months. Underlying profits were £18.2m, against a loss of £9m in 2019.
It previously raised around £155m from investors since inception.
