High-performance brand will harness $1bn esports market in 2021

Fnatic, the high-performance esports brand, has announced a $17m funding round led by one of the largest conglomerates in Japan, Marubeni Corporation (“Marubeni”). This investment will incorporate a strategic partnership to support Fnatic’s expansion into the growing Japanese esports sector, and the substantial Asia-Pacific market.

Marubeni’s investment in Fnatic builds upon twelve months of growth, including an 80% year-on-year increase in revenues year-to-date and expansion as a high-performance esports brand. Fnatic will now strengthen its position in the rapidly growing esports market, which Newzoo anticipates will generate $1.08bn in revenues in 2021.

The previous twelve months have also accelerated the growth of the global esports industry, particularly in cornerstone markets such as China and East Asia. Newzoo projects that the worldwide esports audience will grow to 474 million people in 2021, with 92.8 million enthusiasts in China alone. This global audience is expected to reach more than 577 million by 2024.

To tap into this global and growing market, Fnatic has recently strengthened its leadership team with the addition of Georgina Workman (Head of Studios, Previously Appear Here), Julien Dupont (Partnership development, previously Vitality/Havas), Oliver Royce (Head of Apparel, Previously Gymshark) and Patrick Foster (CFO, previously Getaround). It has also continued to develop its high-performance esports brand through expanding its digital and physical performance products - revenues from these ranges have increased by 91 per cent year on year in the first quarter of 2021.

The investment from Marubeni will also accelerate Fnatic’s growth in the substantial Asia-Pacific market with a new strategic partnership that will incorporate the expansion of Fnatic’s base of operations in Japan and support for Fnatic’s Rainbow 6 Siege team who plan to relocate to the country. The Japanese esports industry is a significant and growing market, expected to increase in value by more than 250 per cent between 2019 and 2023. More than 6.9 million people attended esports events in Japan in 2020, a 42 per cent increase on the previous year.

The current round includes a range of international family offices and institutional investors, alongside venture debt from Bootstrap. The round comes after Fnatic’s groundbreaking crowdraise in 2020, which was joined by more than 3,500 investors.

Fnatic CEO Sam Mathews said: “We’re so excited to have the strategic know-how of Marubeni leading this funding round. Marubeni’s knowledge of Japan’s business landscape will be a huge asset to Fnatic as we expand our commitment to APAC.”

Founded in 2004, Fnatic is the world’s leading high-performance esports brand, with more tier-1 tournament wins than any other organisation. This focus on performance has enabled the growth of Fnatic’s pioneering esports equipment line, which grew 52 per cent in 2020. Fnatic has also expanded its high-performance teams globally, with a worldwide squad of 40 pro gamers across 8 game titles, and more than 100 staff in 6 offices globally.

Fnatic secures $17m led by Marubeni to drive further global growth

Largest ever funding round for a Brighton-based company


MPB, the world’s largest reseller of photo and video kit, has raised £49.8 million in its latest funding round, led by Vitruvian Partners with participation from current investor Acton Capital, joining existing investors Mobeus Equity Partners, Beringea and FJ Labs.

Founded in Brighton in 2011, MPB is a standout driver of the creator economy grounded in a business model of circularity that delivers both economic and environmental sustainability. Recirculating 300,000 items of kit globally each year, MPB has transformed access to photo and video kit by offering a technology-based, customer-centric service that removes the risk and uncertainty attached to using many of its competitors.

Matt Barker, Founder and CEO, MPB said: “This funding round is a major milestone for MPB culminating a decade of strong performance and a vision to make great kit accessible and affordable. With the backing of Vitruvian Partners and those reinvesting in our business we can accelerate our US and European growth strategy at scale, profitably. Photography and videography are intrinsic to societies and cultures all over the world, and at MPB we have created a circular model that offers everyone the chance to be visual storytellers and content creators in a way that’s good for the planet.”

The used kit market is in a period of significant expansion as more consumers purchase sustainably in the circular economy. With established locations in the UK, US and Germany, MPB is well-positioned to take advantage of this growing trend. The new wave of funding will allow the company to focus on new product developments and technology that broaden the ways in which people can access kit, and bolster existing operations to bring more kit to more people.

Tom Studd, Partner at Vitruvian Partners, the independent growth-focussed private equity firm, said: “MPB has developed a unique tech-enabled platform to meet a market need, transforming access to photography kit to become a global leader in its field, whilst building a product that genuinely has a positive impact on the world. Matt and the team have achieved strong and profitable growth through recent launches in the US and Germany, and we’re delighted to partner with them for the next step of the journey. Vitruvian looks to back exceptional teams with unique products in large markets, and we believe Matt and the team fit those criteria perfectly.”

Vitruvian Partners, which has previously invested in successful circular companies including Vestiaire Collective as well as household names Carwow, Just Eat, Farfetch, Skyscanner and Trustpilot, becomes MPB’s largest shareholder and is supported in this round by existing investor, Acton Capital. Mobeus Equity Partners, which first invested in MPB during its Series A funding and remains MPB’s second largest institutional shareholder, has partially exited. Beringea and FJ Labs remain involved.

Sebastian Wossagk, Managing Partner at Acton Capital, said: “It’s always a privilege to watch companies like MPB grow and excel in their field. Matt and his team have already taken the first steps into internationalisation by opening locations in Brooklyn and Berlin, and we’re excited to support them as they pursue further expansion in both the US and Europe.”

Eyal Malinger, Investment Director at Beringea, commented on the news: “Matt and his exceptional team have built MPB into a go-to destination for photographers and videographers. Beringea’s support for MPB throughout this journey is testament to the vast opportunity of enabling enthusiasts to affordably, reliably and sustainably access high-quality equipment – this investment will accelerate the next chapter of MPB’s remarkable growth.”

MPB secures £49.8m investment fuelling circularity in the global creator economy

The data indexing and discovery platform provider has secured further funding and appointed Danny Reeves as CEO

Exonar, the world leading data indexing and discovery platform, has today announced that it has secured further funding from Beringea U.K., Downing Ventures, Winton Ventures, and angel investors. The continued backing of its investors reflects building momentum as Exonar taps into the vast and growing need for enterprises to map, index, analyse and protect the data that they hold.

The digital transformation of the global economy is creating greater volumes of data than many businesses can currently manage. In 2020, 

 that the amount of data stored worldwide would reach 44 zettabytes, meaning that the volume of data in the global economy would have increased tenfold since 2013.

This growth has also been accelerated by the rise in digital adoption during the pandemic. In the UK, 

 that adults now spend more than a quarter of their day online, creating a vast amount of data for companies to process. As a result, many companies struggle to make sense of the deluge of data that they collect. According to 

research by industry analysts at Forrester

, between 60-73 per cent of data collected by enterprises sits dormant.

A primary problem for companies looking to manage and analyse the data that they hold is indexing and discovery. Exonar enables enterprises to rapidly map the information held throughout their organisation, creating an instant view of all structured, semi-structured and unstructured data, supporting the creation of inventories, security of sensitive data, regulatory compliance and ultimately data intelligence.

As the need for data indexing and discovery accelerates, the funding secured from its supportive investor base will enable Exonar to harness a substantial pipeline and further develop its market-leading product. Exonar is already used by enterprise leaders including Lloyds Banking Group, Arrow Global, global pharmaceutical firms and providers of national infrastructure.

Exonar has also recently appointed Danny Reeves, an experienced leader in software and data, as CEO. Danny brings more than 30 years’ experience in the field of information technology and in senior roles at technology-led businesses, including periods as CEO of Romonet CBRE, and as CIO at Balfour Beatty, the global engineering firm. Danny will provide leadership and expertise as Exonar enters an important phase of its scale-up journey.

Danny Reeves, CEO of Exonar, commented: “Today every company on earth is a data company and the ability to see all data, in absolute detail, in one place, regardless of source and type, has been the one constant that has held us all back from maximising the true value of our data strategies, until now! I am delighted to be part of the Exonar Team, as we enable our customers to truly know and leverage their data, in ways previously not possible, on behalf of the people they serve.”

Stuart Veale, Managing Partner of Beringea and Board Director of Exonar, commented: “The volume and complexity of data held by the modern enterprise means that indexing and discovery is now pivotal to digital strategy. Our backing of Exonar is testament to the strength of its technology and the scale of the market opportunity – under Danny’s leadership, the business has the potential to drive greater security and competitiveness for its growing roster of enterprise clients.”

“The Exonar management team intrinsically understand the data challenges of their customers as they themselves have come from CIO and CTO roles – this is crucial for enabling success. Exonar is delivering workable data strategies for their customers who have nothing but the highest praise for the work that is being done. In a world of ever-increasing data, Exonar is simplifying the road map of understanding it better and we’re delighted to work with them as they go from strength to strength,” adds Mike Kennedy, Portfolio Director at Downing Ventures.

Exonar builds momentum to enable enterprises to tackle data deluge

Crowdfunding initiative further engages global fans and esports audience

, a leading global esports brand first backed by Beringea UK in 2019, today announces that it has raised $10 million in an internal round led by Beringea UK with participation from existing investors Unbound, LVL1 Group, JHD as well as key management. The funding will be used to support the global growth of its pioneering esports brand and drive the success of its leading high-performance teams. Fnatic has now raised nearly $35 million across its various funding rounds.

Building on the momentum of this investment round, Fnatic has also announced that it has launched a crowd equity campaign with Crowdcube, the world’s largest crowdfunding platform. Through this campaign, Fnatic will provide a unique opportunity for its growing fanbase to invest in the business and play a part in its mission to seek out and level up the next generation of gamers. This campaign offers a chance for its fanbase to help shape the future of Fnatic.

“We’ve been looking to conduct a crowdfund campaign for a while,” said Sam Mathews, founder and CEO of Fnatic. “This investment provides the perfect opportunity for our community, friends and enthusiasts to join our established investors and own a piece of Fnatic. Crowdfunding is a dynamic and increasingly popular way to fundraise as it provides an opportunity to transform our active and engaged community into investors by giving them the chance to get closer to our journey than ever before. We’re very excited to be working directly with our audience, partnering with them to shape the future of Fnatic, and of entertainment, sports and gaming performance.”

This crowdfunding campaign reflects Fnatic's ambition to innovate and continuously enhance gaming performance while making it accessible to all. The proceeds of this campaign will be directly allocated to initiatives that will foster the advancement of Fnatic's mission to seek out and level up the next generation of gamers. Esports viewership and gaming has boomed in the past year, and this campaign offers investors the opportunity to both support a leading global esports brand and to play an active role in furthering the growing esports movement.

This past year saw viewership of esports skyrocket. Over the past three years, Fnatic has been ranked consistently as one of the most viewed teams among western esports fans and is the second most watched team of 2020 with over 110 million hours watched, to date. As one of the most globally recognised and successful esports brands with total cash winnings nearing $16 million across 903 tournaments, Fnatic continuously sets the bar through community activations and innovative brand partnerships with world renowned brands such as BMW, Gucci, OnePlus, AMD, Monster, Hisense and more.

“Esports is an industry experiencing explosive growth, and yet in many ways is still in adolescence,” said Karen McCormick, Chief Investment Officer of Beringea. “Having evaluated the industry from many angles, Fnatic was a relatively simple investment decision given the premier status of the brand, consistency as a true performance company, and growth and engagement of the fan base. The business has also become a global leader in a very capital efficient way, building a standout team while maintaining a clear focus on economics and profitability.”

Since Crowdcube was founded in 2011, it has helped more than 1,120 raises successfully fundraise. With more than 900,000 members, a total of £1bn has invested on the platform to date. In good company, notable businesses that have successfully raised through Crowdcube include Revolut, BrewDog, Monzo, Carwow, Freetrade and Mindful Chef. Fnatic plans to raise £1 million ($1.3m) through this campaign, which will be open to the public on November 19th. For more information, please visit 

Fnatic raises $10 million and launches crowdfunding to accelerate high-performance esports

Experienced member of the Beringea team will take the role of Investment Manager

Beringea, the transatlantic venture capital investor, has announced the promotion of Mark Shepherd to Investment Manager, further strengthening its London-based investment team.

Mark joined Beringea in January 2019, bringing experience in growth investing and consulting having begun his career at Javelin, the retail and consumer strategy consultancy, and Phoenix Equity Partners, the growth-focused private equity firm.

In the past twelve months, Mark played a pivotal role in Beringea’s £3m investment into Commonplace – a leading digital platform for community engagement – as well as a follow-on investment into DeepCrawl, the analytics platform for technical SEO. Mark has also focused on expanding Beringea’s network among investors and entrepreneurs based in Ireland.

As Investment Manager, Mark will be responsible for sourcing and analysing new deals, due diligence on potential investments, managing deal execution processes, and monitoring and advising portfolio companies. He currently holds observer roles with a range of companies in the portfolio including Simplestream, Zoovu, Commonplace, DeepCrawl and My 1st Years.

Karen McCormick, Chief Investment Officer, commented: “We are delighted to have strengthened our investment team through this promotion. Mark has already built a substantial network throughout the European venture capital and entrepreneurial ecosystems, delivering significant value for Beringea and our portfolio companies. We are immensely proud of the contribution made by Mark and our entire investment team to our ongoing growth and success.”

“I am thrilled to have been promoted to the role of Investment Manager, enabling me to further build on my experience of investing and supporting the next generation of leading entrepreneurs. I am excited to continue my journey with Beringea, helping to further build our profile across Europe and beyond,” commented Mark Shepherd, Investment Manager.

Beringea strengthens UK investment team with promotion of Mark Shepherd

Awards recognise firms transforming the private equity industry by supporting increased gender diversity

Beringea has been award International General Partner of the Year at the 2020 Annual LP/GP Awards hosted by Private Equity Women Investor Network (PEWIN).

PEWIN, the pre-eminent organization for senior-level women investment professionals in private equity, has announced the winners of its 2020 LP/GP awards. The awards were presented at PEWIN’s 12th Annual All Members Virtual Meeting. It was their first virtual meeting with over 200 members attending.

The PEWIN annual awards program recognizes outstanding organizations who are transforming the private equity industry by supporting increased gender diversity in three categories: Female Founded Firm of the Year, Limited Partner of the Year and General Partner of the Year, and in two regions: North American and International. The firms are nominated by PEWIN membership and voted by the PEWIN Steering Committee. In past years, these awards have recognized the following outstanding institutions: 1315 Capital, Avante Capital Partners, Luminate Capital Partners, Scale Venture Partners, The Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, The Riverside Company and The Teacher Retirement System of Texas.

Kelly Williams, Founding Chair and co-CEO of PEWIN said of the awards, “PEWIN is so pleased to recognize Kinzie Capital, Development Partners International (DPI), Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, Hamilton Lane, TPG and Beringea, each of whom are leading by example in their support, promotion and amplification of the outstanding women investors who exist in the global private equity industry. Through the efforts of each of these firms, it is our hope that the amount of assets under management by women in the industry will continue to increase, as they demonstrate the outstanding returns achieved by women investors especially during these unprecedented times.”

Beringea recognised as International GP of the Year at PEWIN Awards 2020

First ever TV commercial made remotely by Popular Pays creators

Producing a 30-second national television commercial could take $1 million, a studio full of actors, and hours of shooting and edit time. New social media platforms like TikTok could require immense research and observation by brands before launching content. Or, it could just take access to thousands of content creators in their homes, allowing brands to quickly procure both advertising and social content that’s faster-to-market, more relevant, and at a lower acquisition cost than traditional methods.

That’s the immense value proposition Chicago-based 

 offers its customers, among them some of the world’s largest consumer brands. The immediate shift in behavior resulting from the pandemic in March 2020, including consumers spending more time on social media and the prohibition of mass gatherings in production studios, meant that advertisers had to quickly change the commercial production model. Popular Pays’ Aana Leech, marketing director, recalls: “Popular Pays has always thought a combination of scalable software and access to a network of content creators is the future of advertising, so I think the transition would have happened eventually. The pandemic just pushed more traditional advertisers along. They’re realizing that on Popular Pays, they can find great content that’s cheaper, faster and more scalable.”

New tools, like Popular Pays’ free TikTok Search Tool, let customers try social media networks with less risk and more access to creators. First movers can take advantage of the power of the platform, go from concept to content quickly, evaluate performance, and change course quickly if necessary. TikTok Search incorporates filters that range from number of followers (starting at 5,000), average views and average number of likes to make discovery quick and easy. Profiles that match a brand's needs can then be saved to make future activation seamless.

Popular Pays Co-Founder and CEO Corbett Drummey says his team “wanted to give brands and agencies an easy way to discover talent on TikTok since there are so many amazing creators on their platform. The reason we're so excited to release this tool is that it gives people a frictionless and free entry point for brands to start testing the waters."

Popular Pays doesn’t just offer tools for digital media creation. When COVID-19 put traditional advertising shoots on hold, brands like Frito-Lay were challenged with shifting their messaging and getting production scheduled to fulfill their media buy for summer. The ad team at Frito-Lay leveraged Popular Pays’ network of creators and to successfully select and collaborate with 25 unique creator partners, supplying 118 video assets. The 

 was produced in just six weeks, or half the time it might normally take, at one-third of the typical cost compared to an average production studio.

“Since COVID-19 hit, we’ve seen a big validation of our software and creator communities’ value to major advertisers. The Frito-Lay spot was the first-ever TV commercial made remotely by our creators, and it had blockbuster results. The quality was impeccable, and ad recall and attention paid was really high,” said Leech. She expects to see more major brand advertisers take advantage of this style of ad creation during the pandemic and beyond, as Popular Pays continues to expand its platform to allow customers to connect, collaborate, and track the work with influencers and content creators one-to-one or at scale.

Popular Pays’ content creation platform proves value to advertisers during pandemic and beyond

Beringea's Chief Investment Officer joined CNBC Squawk Box and Ian King Live on Sky News to discuss investment and technology trends

Karen McCormick, Beringea's Chief Investment Officer, recently joined CNBC and Sky News as a guest commentator, examining the trends and technologies currently shaping the venture capital industry.

Karen first joined Geoff Cutmore, host of CNBC's Squawk Box Europe to discuss the state of the European venture capital market. As well as highlighting the vital need for greater diversity in the industry, Karen discussed the potential strengths of technology start-ups and scale-ups in Europe.

"One of the advantages for European start-ups is that - by definition - they have been more capital efficient than their US counterparts…so there are advantages for European venture capital right now," Karen commented.

Karen was later interviewed by Sam Worthington on Ian King Live, the flagship business programme of Sky News. Sam and Karen discussed the current health of global markets as well as the trends shaping the digital economy and the retail sector.

Karen noted: "COVID-19 has accelerated many trends. On the positive side, technologies that take two years to adopt in normal times now take two weeks to be adopted in these times of crisis. However, it has also had a negative impact on the retail sector, accelerating many of the challenges facing shopping malls and large retailers."

Karen McCormick, CIO, interviewed on CNBC and Sky News

Beringea is a Michigan venture capital firm that provides capital to early stage businesses which have great potential. It’s not a loan, but it is an investment, where we gain partial ownership in the business in return for our money. We tend to invest a lot of money, $3 million to $10 million, and in return the companies use that capital to keep growing and eventually allow us to find another investor to buy our share of the company, hopefully for more money than we initially invested. Simply put, this is the process venture capital investors go through when investing in and then selling investments in growing small businesses.

Innovation is what makes investing in small businesses exciting, and we know some of the best ideas come from young people! At Beringea, we want to know what creative, new business ideas YOU have, and we’re offering $3,500 in prize money for the best start up business plans from Michigan high school students—no strings attached!

The Beringea Start-Up Business Plan Competition provides an opportunity to create a startup business plan and submit it to our venture capital professionals for feedback and possible prize money (not an investment)! During this pandemic school break, you might have more time for enrichment activities, and we hope you take advantage of this fun project that exercises your entrepreneurial brain!

Beringea Start-Up Business Plan Competition Submission Document Guidelines

. To enter, create and submit a complete business plan of your Big Idea! Acceptable formats include Word, Google Docs, PowerPoint or PDF documents. 

Your entry must be received by May 31, 2020 at 

Student(s) Name (1-3 students can submit one business plan), email addresses

Name of high school teacher, email address

High School Name, City, State, and Zip Code

One-page summary of your startup business concept (can be any type of business but should show a potential for growth with a large addressable market).

Describe the problem your startup business’ product or service solves.

Who are the target customers? Why will they be attracted to your solution?

What is the single, clear, compelling reason why your product/service is different and worth buying?

Describe the top features of the product/service that solve the problem. What about your product/service will customers find new or different?

How will you reach your potential customers?

Who are the competitors to this product or service? Is it easy or difficult for new competitors to join the market, and why?

How much will you charge for your product or service, and how much do you project you’ll sell in the first year?

What are the costs to make, market and distribute this product or service, and how many employees might you need?

Where do you see the business’ sales and profitability in the next year?

Feedback will be provided for every plan by a Beringea investment professional. The best business plan submission as judged exclusively by the Beringea investment team will be awarded $2,500 in prize money, the runner-up will be awarded $1,000, and both will be featured on our social media channels (publicity release must be signed, by winning team members and/or a parent/guardian for children under age 18). 

All entries must be received by May 31, 2020 at 

 or by mail at Beringea, 32330 W. 12 Mile Rd., Farmington Hills, Michigan, 48334, Attn: Business Competition.

RULES FOR ENTRY: All entrants must be enrolled high school students, 

 at least age 13, in the State of Michigan for the 2019-2020 school year. No more than three students may enter together, and prize money will be awarded by team to the first name listed on the submission, not by individual student. If winner does not respond within 10 days or fails to qualify for any reason under the rules, an alternate winner may be chosen.

Please, no business concepts related to vice industries (alcohol, drugs, pornography, etc.).

DISCLAIMERS: Relatives of Beringea employees or relatives of Beringea portfolio company employees are not eligible. Business plan submissions are not property of Beringea and may be used freely for other purposes by the applicants at any time. Business plan submission does not constitute an offer for investment review or otherwise guarantee any formal investment or exclusive relationship between Beringea and the entrants. All entries are subject to these official rules and by entering this contest, participants agree to be bound by these official rules, including all eligibility requirements. Decisions made by the sponsor regarding interpretation of the rules and the administration of the contest, including the selection of winners, are final and binding. Contest is governed by the laws of the State of Michigan, U.S.A.

RELEASE and LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: Neither Beringea, nor its agents, officers, directors, employees, agencies, or attorneys, are responsible for, or shall have any liability to any contestants, and contestants release all such parties from any liability of any kind including without limitation: (a) any liability arising from the contest; (b) prizes awarded as part of the contest; (c) incomplete, lost, late, damaged, illegible or misdirected e-mail and/or postal mail; (d) hardware or software failures of any kind; (e) lost or unavailable network connections; (f) failed, incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmissions, whether any of the foregoing are caused by users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the contest, or by any technical or human error which may occur in the processing of submissions, which may limit a contestant’s opportunity to participate in the contest; or (f) Beringea’s current or future investments, including investments of a similar nature to those submitted as part of the contest.

.css-1f4c3m9{white-space:pre-wrap;}Insights and updates.

Insights and updates.