Acamar brings in $5.35m for Bing

Bing was adapted from the books by Ted Dewan

UK indie animation studio Acamar Films has raised a further £4m (US$5.35m) of private investment for its children’s property Bing, bringing the total raised to nearly £10m.

Acamar used a UK government-endorsed Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) – which offers tax relief to individual investors who buy new shares in a company – for the latest funding round, which valued the company at £100m.

Of the £4m-plus total, £2.46 million was placed by Wealth Club, the UK’s largest investment platform for experienced investors.

This marked the third time the Wealth Club has led on a round for the company and brings the total amount invested in Acamar by Wealth Club members to £9.7m.

Now embarking on its next stage of growth, Acamar is using the proceeds of its latest funding round to invest in new markets, including the US, Japan and China, having previously established preschool property Bing in the UK, Italy and Poland.

Bing’s commercial journey has so far been financed by Acamar CEO Mikael Shields and his family – who have a total of £6m currently invested in the business – along with over £18m of equity investment from other private investors, over half of which is from Wealth Club members.

The company has raised all financing to date without major investment from trade partners. As a result, Acamar retains full control of its entitlement to 98% of its net revenues.

Bing, adapted from the books of the same name by US author and illustrator Ted Dewan, centres on the realities and adventures experienced by preschool children via a bunny.

Alex Davies, CEO and founder of Wealth Club, said: “Proven and growing IP assets such as Bing are rarely privately owned, so Acamar presents investors the rare opportunity to invest in an asset of this type mid-stream – and, moreover, with EIS tax reliefs.

“Acamar’s success over the last few years shows how, with access to the right type of funding, these smaller businesses can compete on a level playing field with those with far greater corporate muscle.”