Kelvin Capital portfolio company Snappy Shopper completes £19.4m fundraise with strategic investment from PayPoint.

The fundraise will drive growth and create 400 new jobs over the next 3 years as the Company invests in people, technology, partner services and marketing. Kelvin Capital’s portfolio company Snappy Shopper has this week completed a £19.4m fundraise with investment from new and existing Kelvin Capital members, PayPoint plc, Highland Tech, Justin King (former Sainsbury’s CEO), Maven Capital Partners and Scottish Enterprise. 

Kelvin Capital’s portfolio company Snappy Shopper has this week completed a £19.4m fundraise with investment from new and existing Kelvin Capital members, PayPoint plc, Highland Tech, Justin King (former Sainsbury’s CEO), Maven Capital Partners and Scottish Enterprise. 

Kelvin Capital member Frank Skivington (formerly COO Skyscanner) will join the Board as Non-Exec Director alongside Nick Wiles (PayPoint) and Lord Laidlaw (Highland Tech) and Justin King and Kelvin Capital member Gordon Blair (former F1 team director) will join as Board advisors.  

The last 18 months has seen an unprecedented rise in consumer demand for local home delivery and community retailers are eager to respond to those needs, yet many do not have the technology to provide that service.  Snappy’s affordable tech solutions and trading model enables local retailers to complete effectively in the fast-evolving on-demand convenience market, at a time when the importance of local shops has never been felt more keenly. 

During the pandemic, the hospitality sector has suffered greatly and has had to further develop its customer service offering for the long-term.  Snappy’s bespoke technology solutions enables venues to take online orders, whether for drinks to a table in a pub, breakfast to a hotel room or food delivered at a major sporting event . 

Businesses across the UK need cost-effective digital solutions which enable them to maintain their value proposition whilst servicing their local communities, making Snappy’s bespoke offering highly relevant. 

Snappy has grown from 220 to 1540 business partners since December 2019, and to more than 1 million users across the UK. The Company aims to continue on its impressive growth trajectory over the course of a new 3-year plan. 

Snappy’s tailor-made tech solutions present widespread application opportunities within the hospitality and convenience sectors. There remains a large number of convenience stores that currently do not offer a home delivery service which presents a significant market opportunity. Snappy’s recently announced commercial partnership with PayPoint alone, enables thousands of retailers to implement its home delivery and click and collect solutions. 

Snappy works in partnership with existing local businesses embedded in their communities. With the Snappy model, retailers retain control over their home delivery service. They are provided with a flexible tech solution which enables customer choice, in-store pricing and special offers, tailored to the needs of each individual neighbourhood. Retailers can increase revenue significantly with average basket spend more than trebling online compared to instore. 

Dark store operators compete with local neighbourhood retailers for space and customers whilst delivery aggregators charge significantly higher commission rates to cover infrastructure costs. Snappy’s model is much more in tune with the need for local businesses to maintain their value proposition whilst trading profitably online. These businesses are being empowered by Snappy to cater exactly for what their communities need. 

Kelvin Capital founder John McNicol said “Having supported Snappy from its inception through our network of connections and fundraising, we are delighted with the exceptional performance to date.  It is and always has been a very exciting tech proposition and the investing partners joining us on this journey are testament to the ambition of the team” 

Lord Laidlaw, Chairman of Highland Tech, commented “The Snappy Group is one of the most exciting Scottish tech companies and we are hugely impressed with its trajectory so far.  We are delighted to be part of the success story going forward”. 

Nick Wiles, Chief Executive of PayPoint, said “We’re delighted to be investing into the Snappy Shopper business, building on the partnership that we announced recently to integrate their home delivery and click and collect technology with our own. This investment will enable PayPoint and our network of convenience retailer partners to remain at the forefront of retail and consumer trends.” 

Mike Callachan, CEO and co-founder of the Snappy Group, said “Demand for the fundraise exceeded our expectations and we are pleased to have attracted such high-profile investors and advisers. The proceeds will significantly accelerate our next phase of growth across the UK, including investments in new services for our retail and hospitality partners and new hires across the business. 

“Post lockdown the demand for home delivery and the desire to shop locally is greater than ever, but the increasing number of anonymous dark stores is a threat to local businesses and communities, which must not be underestimated. We are well placed to empower local business to offer another great service to their customers, and better compete in this fast-changing retail market.”