M&A advisor D5 Capital helps to raise investment

European beauty network MyShowcase has raised £1.2 million of equity investment in a funding round led by 24 Haymarket group, the parties have announced.

The deal was supported by media and technology investment and M&A advisor D5 capital.

MyShowcase was founded by Nancy Cruickshank, formerly of Handbag.com and Hearst, and former Telegraph Magazine beauty correspondent Kate Shapland. They describe the business model as “SpaceNK meets Avon”.

The business has a network of around 300 stylists and works with 30 independent manufacturers.

D5 Capital raises capital for growth companies and provides M&A services to media, technology and technology-enabled companies in UK, Europe and Israel.

Its current investments include Quill (content marketing), Rentify (property services), Showbox (video technology), Spot.IM (distributed social networks).

D5 Capital CEO Rupert Ashe called MyShowcase “a great example of how to harness the resources of female entrepreneurs”.

“The business is innovative, scalable and led by a top quality management team, so it is no surprise that we were able to attract a leading investment group such as 24 Haymarket,” he added.

“MyShowcase is definitely one to watch in the next few years, as they expand throughout the UK and into continental Europe.”