A private members’ club for kids, with a breast milk bar, and wine dispensers for the parents, has attracted a £70m fund to expand the business.
Little Houses, the brainchild of Incipio founder Charlie Gardiner, is planning multiple new venues following its first site in Kensal Rise, NW10. They are expected to cost around £4.8m apiece.
The investment comes from Imbiba, which focuses on the leisure and entertainment sector. The £70m is the first close of its new £90m fund.
The close was led by significant investment from the British Business Bank through its Enterprise Capital Funds programme, alongside other investors including Asahi UK.
Imbiba’s managing partner Darrel Connell said: “The significant investment we have secured for our new fund is a huge vote of confidence for Imbiba and the wider leisure, lifestyle and entertainment sector in the UK.”
He added: “Little Houses Group is the perfect example of the kind of business we’re looking to invest in; highly differentiated, best-in-class and scalable with a highly credible management team. We’re excited to work with Charlie and his team as the business expands in the years ahead.”
Little Houses’ first venue, Kensal House Nursery and Jaego’s House, launched in Kensal Rise earlier this year. It features a nursery, creche, kids’ club, jungle gym and soft play, kids’ cinema and snug, as well as a waterside cafe & restaurant, gym and fitness classes, treatment rooms and co-workspace. Imbiba will provide capital and support for the management team to expand the business, with ambitious plans to scale the business and multiple new venues planned in the coming years.
