Channel 4’s consumer investment arm, Channel 4 Ventures, has secured a £3 million (€3.5m) investment into Vinterior, the European second-hand furniture marketplace.
The media for equity deal will enable the home marketplace to tap into audiences for popular Channel 4 shows featuring home improvement such as Grand Designs. The deal also enhances Channel 4 Ventures’ portfolio of home and furniture business investments which have previously included; Purple Bricks, Swyft, MyBespokeRoom, Coat Paints, Rated People and Get Agent.
Sandrine Zhang Ferron, Vinterior Founder and CEO, added: “We’ve had great success from above-the-line advertising in London over the last year and I can’t wait to take Vinterior to TV in the Autumn. It will allow us to increase our awareness and position Vinterior as the destination for buying and selling pre-loved, quality furniture to people beyond our current London focus.”
Channel 4 Ventures is the consumer venture capital investor which re-invests returns into Channel 4. The fund is a pioneer of the media-for-equity investment model in the UK, investing in consumer companies from the seed to pre-IPO stages using Channel 4’s advertising space and in return receiving equity stakes in the companies it backs.
This funding round brings the total funds raised by Vinterior to £15 million. Other investors include Active Partners and Venrex.