Backers join gold rush to be in Murray’s club
WONDERUSH, a booking service backed by Olympic gold medallist Andy Murray which allows members to sample a range of activities, used crowdfunding specialist Seedrs to raise £150,000 in just three hours last week.
The online club has 4,000 subscribers and currently operates exclusively in London. It is now aiming to raise a total of £200,000 to fund expansion.
The business, based in Kensington High Street in West London, has previously received funding from investment fund Fuel Ventures, set up by Mark Pearson, founder of MyVoucherCodes.
Tennis star Murray, who won a gold medal at the Rio Olympics, is one of those who have invested in Fuel Ventures.
Wonderush subscribers are able to book an unlimited number of classes and lifestyle experiences at venues including the London Hippodrome – which is staging the burlesque show Blanc de Blanc – for a £29 monthly fee. There are no extra charges for members.
The club works with more than 1,000 activity hosts across the capital.
The event hosts are introduced to new customers through the club and they get the opportunity to fill unsold spaces at the last minute.
Co-founder and chief executive Nelson Sivalingam said: ‘We’re at a point where for almost two years we have been building the business in London.
‘Now we’re raising money to scale it out of the capital and test it in other cities. We’re exploring a few, but we’re tentatively looking at Birmingham and Brighton.’