Menswear brand Spoke raises £8.5m to accelerate growth

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Oct 30, 2019

Spoke, a British menswear brand seeking to revolutionise menswear by focusing on fit, has raised £8.5m of new equity capital in a Series B round led by investment firm BGF.

Existing shareholders Forward Partners, Oxford Capital and 24 Haymarket also participated in the funding round.

The cash will be used to invest into four core areas, including technology, product innovation, brand building and international expansion.

The fast-growing menswear business has a direct-to-consumer model, with consumers invited to discover their trouser fit through a series of questions. The Spoke size range is 10 times bigger than the average trouser brand, featuring 1 inch increments on the waist and leg, with three different ‘builds’ to choose from.

The investment will also be used to further refine and personalise the brand’s trouser predictions.

Founder and CEO, Ben Farren explained: “We now have the funds to power the next phase of growth. We believe great legwear is the foundation of a great wardrobe."

In addition to investing in product and technology, Spoke said the funds will be used to spearhead its growth in the US, where it piloted a trial in 2018 and saw “strong” demand. Indeed, international markets account for 15% of the brand’s revenues and the figure is set to grow with a planned expansion into new geographies.

Tim Rea, who led the investment for BGF, added: “There are currently seismic shifts in retail and the menswear market – and Spoke is a clear emerging leader in the space. We were very impressed with Ben and the management team, the quality of the product and the strength of the brand that has been created in such a short period of time. This was most evident in brand loyalty, with an astonishing repeat purchase rate, and early success in the US.

“Spoke has strong, solid foundations, trading momentum and a large market opportunity. We look forward to supporting them on the next stage of their growth.”