A Market Harborough startup being acquired in a “a pre-pack administration deal” has been described by its founder as “an incredibly painful outcome”.
Thrift+ was on a mission to end fashion waste with its platform that enabled customers to buy and sell pre-owned clothes.
However the business and been taken over by CTR Group UK following one of the startup’s major new investors withdrawing from a £2m investment in the final stages of a funding round, according to founder Joe Metcalfe.
In a Linkedin post Joe details how he was forced to scramble for new investors immediately and within days of the initial deal collapsing, Thrift+ had gone out to market more than 150 potential buyers in order to avoid insolvency.
CTR Group UK, which is also in the circular economy space, has now acquired the trade and assets of Thrift+. Joe said:
“This means that our brilliant, supportive and mission-driven shareholders have lost their investment. An incredibly painful outcome for all those that believed in me and in our mission.
“I do not take this lightly and will be forever grateful – to the family, friends, impact angels, impact VCs, crowd investors, and family offices – for the opportunity you gave me to build Thrift+ over the past 8 years. Thank you.
“The silver lining is that the deal means Thrift+ itself continues as normal. So, for our team and for our customers, it is thankfully ‘business-as-usual’.
Joe Metcalfe will continue as CEO, adding:
“I am excited for Thrift+ to now be part of a larger group and to benefit from the stability and scale that can supercharge our mission and enable us to achieve even greater impact.
“I am only now, as I write this, recognising how lucky we are to have achieved this outcome.”