Sportswear start-up Prevayl scores £7.5m investment as market picks up pace
Manchester sportswear start-up Prevayl has scored £7.5m in pre-revenue to stitch together its ‘intelligent sportswear’ collections as the UK sportswear market continues its strong pace.
The investment has been made by consumer brand investment firm Stonebridgesignals good faith in the UK sportswear market which is expected to grow 20.9 per cent by 2023, reaching £6.7bn according to Global Data.
The digital-first investment firm, headed by entrepreneur and founding partner James Cox, has also rallied investments in London’s sleep-tech firm Simba Sleep and the capital’s shoemaker start-up Mahabis.
Prevayl CEO Adam Crofts said: “To secure £7.5m pre-revenue is testament to the whole team.
“Partnering with Stonebridge has undoubtedly been a leg up for the business. It’s providing us access to the Torque Brands e-commerce platform, which will accelerate our ability to scale, whilst offering our community a slick user experience – helping us fulfil our global ambitions.”
The sportswear company’s team has poached designers and developers from GymShark, the Hut group, Lacoste and Burberry – which puts Prevayl in good stead as GymShark’s parent group Clade posted last month a turnover of £260.6m for the year to 31 July 2020.
Stonebridge’s James Cox said: “What the company has created over the last 24 months is quite amazing and sits right in the sweet spot of what we believe consumers want. The founders are world-class and well on the way to disrupting another large global market.”
Once the company is fully launched, it will host sportswear, hardware and an app. Meanwhile, the investment will also bolster Manchester’s textiles industry.