April 12 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian-founded, London-based software-led bespoke jewellery maker Taylor & Hart said on Wednesday that it attracted an investment from British bank Virgin Money, founded by UK entrepreneur Richard Branson, as part of a freshly completed 3.5 million pounds ($4.4 million/3.97 million euro) fundraising.
Virgin Money took part in Taylor & Hart's fundraising alongside existing investor UK venture capital and private equity firm Active Partners and private investment platform Seedrs, the start-up said in a press release.
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The fresh capital will be deployed to accelerate the geographical expansion of the business which is currently active in four countries, including the U.S. and Bulgaria. The company will also use part of the funds to build up its brand and digital platform as well as to boost growth with the aim of becoming a leader on the personalised engagement rings market.
"Taylor & Hart was created to transform the opaque and conservative way of ring shopping by combining the ability for our customers to create unique and meaningful jewellery designed to be passed down through generations, with a revolutionary multi-channel service and excellent user experience. We are delighted that Virgin Money and the wide circle of investors supports us in this new round of financing, along with the ongoing support from our lead investor Active Partners," co-founder and CEO Nikolay Piriankov said.
Launched in 2014, Taylor & Hart focuses on the use of authentic, ethically sourced and sustainable materials and diamonds. The company has seen an annual surge of 200% in demand for laboratory-grown diamonds in its portfolio.
Having developed a proprietary software platform, Taylor & Hart offers customers the option to design their own jewellery and is one of the first companies worldwide to use blockchain for tracking the origin of diamonds to guarantee transparency.
( 1 GBP = $1.246/1.134 euro)