Arete has invested as part of a multi-million pound deal.
Thank you to Arete for backing us to make real change to both schools, who can invest lettings revenue back into their teaching environment & pupils, and to communities, who will have more available facilities to get together for activities which improve mental and physical wellbeing.
Arete’s support will undoubtedly help us achieve our vision of creating thriving communities of healthier, happier people, and we look forward to welcoming many new partner schools over the coming months.
This investment comes at a time where the importance of social interaction and physical health are becoming more vital than ever for UK communities as national lockdown restrictions ease.
Simon Lord, joint managing partner at Arete said:
"We really believe in Vivify's vision and their platform will help schools to engage and build relationships with people in their community. "With feelings of loneliness and mental health problems at an all-time high, this engagement can have a hugely positive impact on the wellbeing of people across the UK. "It's exciting for us to work with an entrepreneurial management team who have developed technical differentiation via Vivify's booking platform to put schools right at the heart of its business model. "We are looking forward to adding value to Vivify with our existing knowledge of scaling similar types of businesses and helping them to grow the market and all the social and economic benefits that brings."
Russell Teale, Vivify Co-founder and CEO said:
“The investment from Arete will allow Vivify to raise awareness of its platform among many more under-utilised schools up and down the UK, enabling more people to get involved in social and physical activities – at a time where it has never been so important. “Vivify has huge potential in the UK market. In fact, recent statistics from Sport England show that for every £1 spent on community sport and physical activity, nearly £4 is generated in return for the English economy and society at large. We’re providing a vital service that has the potential to unlock additional revenue for the UK economy in the near future – particularly given that over a third of the UK’s sports facilities alone are currently behind school gates. As a result, Arete’s investment will have a huge multiplier effect for the UK’s economic and social future.”
The transaction was led by Simon Lord and Jamie Newall at Arete; Matt Noon and Elan Iorwerth of Hill Dickinson (legal advisers); Neil Robinson and Rob Dawes of Grant Thornton (financial due diligence), and Dan Harris of PwC (tax). Michael Murphy from Weightmans advised Vivify.
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