The tech company behind Zavvi secures £14 million for expansion

If you are operating an ecommerce site which has traction then it might be worth picking up the phone to these guys.

Online retailing platform The Hut Group has secured a whopping £14 million investment by institutional investors via a Pre-IPO (Initial Public Offering) placing. The cash will be used to fund further acquisitions and expansion, prior to a flotation. That could mean an interesting exit for some of the UK’s smaller retail startups.

The five year old company sells through its own sites like TheHut.com and Zavvi.com as well as powering the platform for blue-chip retail partners like ASDA, Woolworths, Argos, Tesco and WHSmith.

Tech VC Balderton Capital participated in the funding round along with City fund managers Artemis, The William Currie Group and retailer Angus Monro participated in the fundraising. Angus Monro (former CEO of Matalan), Iain McDonald of The William Currie Group and Mark Evans of Balderton Capital have joined The Hut Group’s board.

Hut says it has grown turnover more than 150% each year since starting.

The fundraising is good newsjobs, as The Hut Group plans to recruit a further 100-150 staff in the coming 12-18 months.