Arksen announces £6m Series A funding round against backdrop of strong traction in adventure market

Arksen 85 © Arksen

Arksen, the pioneering adventure lifestyle brand, announces the launch of its first public investment round where it is raising £6m Series A capital from institutional and retail investors.

The company was founded in 2018 by Jasper Smith, a highly accomplished entrepreneur who has spent a lifetime adventuring at sea and on land and whose vision is to create a global adventure brand that is in lockstep with a world in transition and engineers its products to embrace the principles of a circular economy. Uniquely, the company seeks to build the "United Artists" of the adventure world, by enabling its community to become fellow owners. Arksen has become an international adventure brand centred around inspiring and empowering the next generation of explorers and conservationists as they seek how best to explore, protect and nurture the planet with appropriate limits.

Initially rooted around its core marine offering, Arksen has developed three key complementary business pillars - Marine, Automotive and Apparel, and reported revenues of £18.5m in the last 18 months of operations, with a forward sales pipeline of over £156m. The company has sold 21 of its premium explorer boats to date reflecting strong appetite amongst luxury adventure customers. Arksen's iconic products - award winning vessels, off-road vehicles and performance wear - are known for their exceptional capabilities enabling exploration of the most spectacular and remote destinations in all conditions. The company has a $1.37tn total addressable market set to reach $2.3tn within the luxury travel market by 2030.*

Proceeds from the equity funding will be used to accelerate marketing and geographic expansion, for working capital for expanded product development and to increase stock levels to support rapid dealer growth. The company is seeking margin enhancement through more sophisticated customer acquisition technologies and greater direct channel presence, whilst the US and Asia are key markets for development. New product evolution will be enhanced by higher opex and larger teams, and Arksen will begin to hold a limited stock of products for immediate sale instead of making vessels to order.

Commenting on the funding round, Founder and CEO Jasper Smith said: "The adventure industry, and more particularly, the marine sector is going through a profound change - driven by emerging technologies and the necessity to adopt a circular economy. We are proud to be pioneering these positive changes, building a company united on a mission to create class leading products, and enabling our community to help own part of that future".

To participate in the round visit seedrs.com/arksen or for investor enquiries in the USA and Australia, and/or institutional enquiries please contact investor.relations@arksen.com

*source: www.grandviewresearch.com