Spoke secures 5 million pounds investment to support international growth

British custom-made-on-demand menswear brand Spoke has completed a 5 million pounds crowd-funding round on the Seedrs platform to help accelerate its growth and reach internationally.

The round was supplemented by existing investors, led by Oxford Capital, with participation from Forward Partners, BGF and 24 Haymarket.

Spoke explained that the money would be invested in its team, technology and marketing to support its ambitions to grow its international footprint. With a particular focus on the US, the menswear brand's second-largest market after the UK, which is currently growing at over 100 percent per annum.

Spoke added that it plans to invest in a dedicated US team, which will be based in London, to support its efforts to quadruple US revenues by FY24.

Ben Farren, chief executive and founder at Spoke, said in a statement: “We are experiencing an exhilarating post-pandemic recovery, with growth of more than 60 percent year-on-year, as work and going out trends normalise.

“The monies raised will enable us to accelerate our progress in our international markets of Europe, and the US where we are currently growing at over 100 percent pa, and progress towards our vision of building the World’s most personalised menswear brand.”

Menswear brand Spoke targets US growth following investment

Spoke is currently trading ahead of targets for the full year, with the custom-fit brand stating that its year-on-year gross revenues are currently up by over 60 percent on 2021’s 17 million pounds. This growth has led to the brand opening a new distribution centre in Germany to hand-finish all items for local distribution as it looks to service its growing business across Continental Europe more efficiently.

The menswear brand offers a unique platform that delivers a customised finish in over 400 size options across its legwear ranges, covering leg length, waist and build, as well as taper options for calves. It utilises its proprietary machine learning technology called Fit Finder to match customers with their perfect size in just sixty seconds.

Spoke also avoids the issue of carrying excess stock by finishing all orders by hand in its Yorkshire-based workshop to ensure a “custom made fit, without going to the time or expense of bespoke”.

David Mott, founding partner at Oxford Capital, added: “At Oxford Capital we are passionate about backing founders and we’re thrilled to see the progress that Ben and the team have made in growing the Spoke brand. The company has successfully managed the changing needs of consumers – growth over the last year and projections for the year ahead are really promising.”