A government loan provided to Killing Kittens to help it weather the pandemic has been converted into shares in the company, the British Corporate Bank confirmed on Tuesday.
Killing Kittens, hosts women-led adult parties in cities including London and New York, Guaranteed investment in 2020 from the UK government’s Future Fund, designed to help startups survive the coronavirus pandemic.
The company was founded by Emma Sayle in 2005 and hosts members-only parties in exclusive locations where “established gender stereotypes” are challenged, according to website. It has recorded a 330% increase in traffic to its website during the coronavirus lockdown and now calls itself “the fastest growing adult social network”.
At one point, the pandemic forced the company to move all events and seminars online, accelerating existing plans to enter the sex tech industry – a rapidly growing field that includes products and businesses focused on enhancing the sexual experience.
Killing Kittens now has a mobile app that allows users to meet “for casual dates, friendships, long-term partners, or a long-term relationship,” as described above. website.
The government’s Future Fund previously gave the company a loan of £170,000 ($221,780). The program that funded from tax revenuetypically offers debt financing between £125,000 ($153,000) and £5 million ($6.1 million) to companies, depending on them at least matching capital from investors private.
The government bought shares of many other companies through the fund. As of this March, 337 convertible loans it was given to companies across the country that also turned into equity after those players raised more capital.
When asked about the Killing Kittens investment on Tuesday, a Corporate Bank of England spokesperson said that “applications that met all of the eligibility criteria received the investment.”
“The Future Fund used a standard set of terms with published eligibility criteria,” the representative added in a statement. “This process provides a clear, efficient way to provide funding as widely and as quickly as possible without lengthy negotiations.”
Killing Kittens did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
After the initial investment in 2020, Sayle joke that she never “pictured Boris as a sleeping mate”, referring to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
– CNN’s Eoin McSweeney and Hanna Ziady contributed to this report.
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