PerfectTed secures another £1m in Steven Bartlett partnership
Summary
PerfectTed has secured a fresh \xa31m in funding from Steven Bartlett as the Dragons Den star doubled down on his investment in the rapidly growing energy drink brand.It follows Bartlett and Peter Jones investing a combined \xa350k following an appearance on the BBC One show that aired in March 2022, in a deal that valued the fledging business at \xa3500k.Now a video released on one of Bartletts YouTube channels reveals the entrepreneur has followed his original backing with an additional \xa31m from his Flight Fund VC firm, as the brand looks to supercharge sales to reach \xa325m by 2025.PerfectTed declined to share details of the deal, but documents filed to Companies House in May showed the business raised an additional \xa3500k in equity at a valuation of \xa319.5m.Separate filings associated with the raise were also signed on 25 April by the three PerfectTed co-founders, Marisa Poster and brothers Teddie and Levi Levenfiche, alongside Bartlett on behalf of Flight Story General Partner Ltd.It isnt clear how the rest of the deal for the remaining \xa3500k is structured.The YouTube video gives viewers a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the journey taken by PerfectTed and Bartlett since the Dragons Den agreement.Part of the film shows the three PerfectTed founders across the negotiating table from Bartlett and his Flight Fund team thrashing out a deal.When we first spoke, you were talking about a range of \xa3500k to \xa31m, Levi Levenfiche said.I think we need to be on the top end of that at \xa31m. He suggested further equity could be unlocked as the business hit sales targets, with an initial 5% followed by another 2.5% at \xa330m revenue, a 2.5% at \xa345m and a final 5% at \xa360m.We think it aligns us all to outperform and f**king take this thing to the moon, he added.The film then shows counter-offers being proposed by Bartlett.The deal took a year to be fully negotiated before it was signed, sealed, delivered, said Bartlett in a separate individual interview as part of the film describing the events. But no details of the final agreement are shared.A screenshot of a Flight Fund webpage which isnt currently online shown on the video said Bartletts investment vehicle had signed a legally binding deal to invest \xa31m in PerfectTed.PerfectTed has grown quickly since launching in 2021, with its range of matcha green tea energy drinks listed nationwide with the likes of Tesco, Waitrose and Holland & Barrett.Earlier this year, it released a matcha powder across the UK in Sainsburys, since extending the range into Tesco, Holland & Barrett and foodservice.The brand claims to be the fastest-growing natural energy drink in the UK and the largest matcha brand in Europe.Bartletts YouTube video added sales at the company had rocketed from \xa39k a month when the Dragon first became involved to \xa31m a month today.I know without Steve we would still be successful, but the opportunities hes been able to afford us have been life-changing and business changing, Teddie Levenfiche said.We did \xa3200k in our first year of sales, \xa32.5m in our second year and now were doing \xa312m in our third year, so its been pretty phenomenal growth. In our mind, we believe we can build a \xa3100m business at least.The business does not yet file full accounts at Companies House, but the latest IRI category data showed retail sales value of the drinks boomed by 261.4% to \xa32m in the 52 weeks to 13 July 2024. The vehicle invests between \xa3810k to \xa38.1m in high-growth companies across six emerging sectors: blockchain, biotech, health & wellbeing, commerce, technology and space.PerfectTed declined to comment on the story.