30th August 2006 - Aspiration Capital Backs Slurp’s Online Wine Venture
Today Ribica International Limited, owner of the online wine brand Slurp.co.uk, announced that it had received start up capital from Aspiration Capital Management LLP.
The private venture capital fund will invest £105,000 (US$ 190,000) for a 27.4% stake in the company. The funds will be used mainly for the acquisition of stock and for the initial marketing campaign.
Dr Jeremy Howard, Aspiration Capital Founder commented on the announcement:
"It is a great opportunity for us to take a position in a sector which is exhibiting dramatic growth. Wine is heavy and wine is intimidating (to many people). It therefore lends itself to online research away from the public eye (with appropriate reviews and recommendations) and to home delivery. This is why the online wine market is growing much more quickly than the overall market.
In founders Paul Mitchell and Nico Sunnocks, Slurp has a strong management team. We were pleased to note their background in FMCGs rather than in wine itself, as the vast majority of businesses built and run by ‘wine buffs’ lack e-commerce sophistication and appear destined to fail."
