A CREATOR of online craft communities has today announced the completion of a £26 million funding round led by Scottish Equity Partners (SEP), the biggest investment in a venture-funded business in the UK this year.

LoveCrafts, which has millions of users in 140 countries, will use the investment to fund growth.

The investment follows a surge of industry recognition for LoveCrafts, which includes twice being named one of the fastest growing UK and European companies and its induction into Tech City’s Future Fifty programme for fast-growing tech companies.

It features a mix of content, commerce and community, which enables thousands of craftspeople to find inspiration, plan projects, buy supplies and share creations with a fast-growing community of like-minded crafters.

Independent designers can also share inspiration and sell their designs.

The investment from its current backers and SEP will allow LoveCrafts to improve the technology that enables users to connect through the platform.

The company was founded in the UK in 2012 by entrepreneurs Cherry Freeman, Nigel Whiteoak and Edward Griffith. It has seen four years of strong and steady growth, and revenue is doubling year on year, supported by a 150-strong team.

Griffith said: “It’s always been our goal to connect makers, designers and creatives across the world in a social and accessible way, and this investment will help us to do this in more markets, with greater scale and better tools.”

SEP partner Stuart Paterson, who joins the LoveCrafts board, said: “Crafting is the world’s largest hobby.

“LoveCrafts has built an impressive, scalable, digital community-based platform targeting an international market worth $100 billion per annum.

“It has a large and rapidly growing customer base in the UK and US, and our investment will enable further expansion in Europe and Australasia, reinforcing the company’s position as the end- to-end destination for crafting enthusiasts across the globe.”The National: