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Date: April 2024
Buyer: Mirabaud Lifestyle, Impact & Innovation Fund, D1 Capital Partners, JAM Fund
Target: Sparxell
Business: Plant-based textile pigments
Value: £2.5million
Details: Sparxell, a business founded in 2022 by University of Cambridge scientists Dr Bejamin Droguet and Professor Silvia Vignolini, has received £2.5million in a seed funding round. The round was led by Circular Innovation Fund, a venture capital fund managed by L’Oreal Cycle Capital and Demeter. Fellow investors included Future Communities Capital (an investor in SpaceX), PDS Ventures, Katapult, Joyance Partners and SNØCAP VC. Sparxell works to create vibrant colour pigments using fully plant-based cellulose, a renewable, biodegradable resource that can be extracted from waste streams. The resulting product is toxin-free and fully biodegradable, with Dr Droguet stating that “our plant-based materials can be grown and sourced locally in a complete rethink of how colours are currently being manufactured while reducing transport emissions”, compared to traditional chemical colourants that cause “major environmental harm”. Sparxell’s products can then be used in the fashion industry through textile colouring, embellishments and sequins, once it completes a further Series A funding round later this year.
