Stubble & Co secures multi-million pound investment to fast track growth

Direct to consumer lifestyle bag brand Stubble & Co has secured a multi-million-pound backing from consumer specialist investment firm Growth Partner, which is backed by HomeServe Founder and Chairman, Richard Harpin.

The new funding sees Growth Partner take a “significant minority stake” in the brand that was founded by husband and wife team Ben and Victoria Watkiss in 2017, “for daily commuters, gymgoers, weekend escapers, all-weather cyclists and frequent flyers”.

Stubble & Co's launched its first generation of products via Kickstarter, where it achieved an impressive milestone of selling £80,000 worth of bags within 30 days. The business is on track to achieve sales of £10m this year.

The company has carved a niche for itself with its hero ‘Roll Top’ product range but has also seized new opportunities to broaden its range into other categories, such as its recent ‘Tote Bag’ launch.

Stubble & Co also recently solidified a partnership with Premier League team Brentford FC, becoming their official bag partner for the current season, which coincided with the launch of the brand’s new ‘Kit Bag’.

Ben Watkiss said: “We’re exceptionally proud to have built Stubble & Co into a £10m profitable brand without outside investment, but we also believe the right partner will help us grow further and faster.

“As our growth continues to accelerate, now is the perfect time to bring in this major investment from Growth Partner to support the next phase of our development. The experience and network from Richard and his team are going to be invaluable as we build a globally recognisable brand.”

Richard Harpin commented: “Ben and Victoria and the Stubble & Co team have successfully created an agile, purpose-driven brand that develops outstanding functional products which its customers love and is growing at an exceptional pace.

“I’m excited to share my experience and support Ben and Victoria as Stubble & Co expands into new adjacent product categories, new sales channels and international markets as it continues to scale.”

In 2022, Stubble & Co joined the 1% for the Planet initiative, vowing to contribute 1% of its annual sales to approved environmental non-profits, and earlier this year the business also became a Certified B Corporation.

Growth Partner has backed several high-profile entrepreneurs and businesses to help them achieve step-change growth in their business, including Passenger Clothing led by Executive Director Justin Stone – previously founder of Surfdome – and non-executive Chair Steve Hewitt, previously CEO of Gymshark.