Sportswear brand Skins launches £2m crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs
A company that makes tight-fitting sportswear aimed at boosting athletes' performance is seeking to raise £2m using crowdfunding site Seedrs.
Founded in Australia in 1996, Skins has become popular with runners and professional athletes thanks to its compression tights aimed at boosting the circulation and speeding up recovery.
The Swiss-based company, which is majority owned by its chairman Jaimie Fuller, currently sells in 43 countries worldwide and is worth around £18m.
Fuller, a sports ethics campaigner who backed calls last year for reforms in FIFA, said: “Skins began life making sportswear that enabled athletes to improve their performance."
"Over the years, our mission has transcended the field of play and we have become increasingly concerned with making a difference in the world of sport. We see crowdfunding as a fantastic opportunity for like-minded people to become part of our journey,” he added.
Skins is also running a parallel crowdfunding campaign on Equitise, a New Zealand based crowdfunding platform, which has raised around £50,000 so far. Another £150,000 has already been pledged on the Seedrs site since the launch, mainly by Skins' directors.
The company said it plans to use the proceeds to fund its expansion in Australia, the UK, US and continental Europe, with the view of selling the company either through an IPO or a trade sale in five years time.