Thrift+ is a managed marketplace for pre-loved fashion. We’ve cracked resale, now we’re ready to scale.
Business overview
Location | Market Harborough, United Kingdom |
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Social media | |
Website | thrift.plus |
Sectors | Clothing & Accessories Mixed Digital/Non-Digital Mixed B2B/B2C |
Company number | 10630791 |
Incorporation date | 21 Feb 2017 |
Business highlights
- 1 million items sold, worth £12 million
- Nearly £3.0m annual revenue in 2023 (+36% vs 2022)*
- 44,000 items listed in March 2024 (+67% vs 2023)
- B Corp Certified
Key features
Learn more about convertible campaigns.
Pitch
About the Campaign
Thrift+ is on a mission to end fashion waste by making it easier to resell than to discard.
Our wardrobe clearout service means zero hassle for our sellers, who don’t have time or energy to use eBay or Vinted. Instead, our expert team uses bespoke technology to rapidly photograph, price, and list online.
We also power the fashion take-back services for leading brands and retailers, including Gymshark, Fatface, White Stuff, The White Company, Monsoon and LK Bennett.
Market Opportunity
Over the past 5 years, we have seen the remarkable growth of peer-to-peer platforms like Vinted that allow “DIY” sellers to list & sell their own clothes.
We believe that the next phase of growth will come from managed marketplaces like Thrift+, that unlock supply from those who wouldn't sell their clothes themselves.
GlobalData forecasts a CAGR of 12% over the next 5 years, 3X faster than overall apparel, and reaching $350bn by 2028.
Traction & Key Accomplishment
The significant costs involved in the logistics to acquire the stock and the labour to process each item, make the managed marketplace model very challenging.
But we've cracked it.
In February 2024, our resale operation generated a contribution (after marketing) of £115,000 towards our overheads of £145,000.
Further growth in supply will ensure that the cash generated from our operations completely covers our overheads and we can then look to becoming profitable.
In order to drive that supply, in March we launched the ability for our sellers to earn real cash rather than Thrift+ credits from sending us their unwanted items.
The impact has been huge, growing Thrift+ Bag orders from ~200 to ~800 bags per day, setting us firmly on the path to profitability.
Team
Thrift+ was founded in 2017 by Joe Metcalfe, an ex-strategy consultant with a drive to reduce the 70% of our second-hand clothing that go to waste.
In the past year, Joe has focussed on building an exceptional senior team to lead the business through its next phase of growth:
> Tess Kermode joined as COO, previously at OLIO, UBER, & Citibank.
> Olivia Marke joined as Head of Finance, previously at Trouva.
> Henry McIntosh joined as Head of Engineering, previously at Cazoo.
Business Model
Thrift+ earns revenue by charging a commission on sales. The commission is dependent on the sale value, but on average we charge 80%.
The average selling price of an item is £10, meaning a typical payout of £2 per item for sellers. Sellers typically include 8+ items in each Thrift+ Bag.
Thrift+ also has a B2B revenue stream, receiving stock in bulk from retailers, brands, charities, or textile handlers. Due to lower costs, we are able to charge a small fixed processing fee + 35% commission.
Use of Funds
The funds we raise in this round will support the business on its path to breakeven, allowing us to continue our rapid growth and to invest in our technology.
We will focus on (1) improving the experience for our sellers, (2) optimising the algorithms that drive our pricing, and (3) achieving more efficient item processing and better quality listings.
This summer, we intend to raise £3-5m in order to expand the capacity of our warehouse and introduce automation to further improve our margins.
*Based on Unaudited Management Accounts
Key Information
ASA Terms Sheet
This investment round is being raised by way of a convertible equity investment structure, in this case an "advanced subscription agreement".
The key terms that apply to the Company’s advanced subscription agreement are set out below. See also attached Key Terms document for further details.
Conversion is triggered by ("Trigger Events"):
- An Equity Fundraise – defined as the Company raising investment capital of at least £2,000,000 from one transaction or a series of transactions, in exchange for the company issuing equity shares;
- A Change of Control of the company (transfer of more than 50% of the share capital); or
- An IPO – being a listing of the company’s shares on a recognised stock market or secondary market.
On the occurrence of a Trigger Event, your investment will convert at the lower of:
- A 30% discount to the valuation set by a Trigger Event; or
- A valuation cap of £15,988,496.
Longstop Date is 8th July 2024. If conversion has not been triggered by the Longstop Date shares will be issued on the Longstop Date at the Default Share Price, which is the lower of:
- The lowest price of any shares issued after the date of this Agreement; and
- a price per share based on a valuation of £7,994,248 on a fully diluted basis.
The convertible would also convert to equity at the Default Share Price in the event of winding up or liquidation of the company.
Outstanding Debt
The company has the following loans and creditors:
1. A Shareholder loan of £300,000 with an interest rate of 18%. The loan is being repaid in monthly installments of £35,000, with the final payment due in April 2025.
2. £128k owed to HMRC relating to PAYE. This is being paid via £5.6k per month from Nov 23 - May 25.
3. £126k owed to partners in respect of vouchers awarded to customers - paid over the next 6 months.
The funds raised in this round will not be used to repay this debts.
Share Classes
The company currently has 4 classes of shares, Seed Preferred Shares, Seed Ordinary Shares, Ordinary Shares & B Ordinary Shares. All investors in this round, including Seedrs investors, will be receiving Seed Preferred shares. The rights attached to the share classes are as follows:
1. Seed Preferred Shares
- Senior 1x non-participating preference on liquidation, exit or return of capital
- Dividend rights
- Voting rights
- Pre-emption rights
2. Seed Ordinary Shares
- Junior 1x non-participating preference on liquidation, exit or return of capital
- Dividend rights
- Voting rights
- Pre-emption rights
3. Ordinary Shares
- Dividend rights
- Voting rights
- Pre-emption rights
4. B Ordinary Shares
- No dividend rights
- No voting rights
- No pre-emption rights
Preference:
On a liquidation, exit or return of capital, the proceeds will be distributed as follows:
(i) Seed Preference Shares will first receive:
- an amount equal to the aggregate issue price of all shares held by those shareholders (i.e. a sum equal to their total investment in the company), or;
- where the proceeds are not enough to repay all investments, an amount pro-rata to their respective number of shares
(ii) Once the amount at (i) has been paid, if there are proceeds left to distribute then the Seed Ordinary Shares will receive:
- an amount equal to the aggregate issue price of all shares held by those shareholders (i.e. a sum equal to their total investment in the company), or;
- where the proceeds are not enough to repay all investments, an amount pro-rata to their respective number of shares
(iii) The remaining proceeds after (i) and (ii) have been satisfied will be distributed pro-rata between Ordinary Shares and B Ordinary Shares.
NB. if Seed Preferred Shareholders and Seed Ordinary Shareholders would receive a greater return if the distribution was simply divided equally between all shareholders then the preferences at (i) and (ii) will be deemed to fall away and the net proceeds will be distributed pro-rata
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