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CMS advises family app Hoop on £4m Series A fundraise

25 May 2018

International law firm CMS has advised Hoop, a fast-growing marketplace which helps families find and book organised local activities for children, on its latest investment led by Edge Investments (‘Edge'). The £4m Series A round included a further investment by the Business Growth Fund, following an earlier BGF Ventures-led round of £2.4m in 2017.

Launched in London in 2016, Hoop, a member of the CMS equIP programme, delivers a mobile-first marketplace that effectively addresses the changing lifestyles of both parents and organisers. From local baby and toddler groups to swimming lessons, from drama classes to creative workshops, Hoop makes it easy to discover and book fun activities for families, enabling the predominantly smaller businesses which put on these activities to attract new customers, handle bookings and payments more efficiently and grow.

The Hoop app, voted the “Best App of the Year” by Apple in both 2016 and 2017, has been downloaded over 750,000 times, with a rapid increase in uptake throughout 2017.

Daniel Bower, founder of Hoop, comments: “Through the tools we build and the connections we make, our mission is to inspire, educate and entertain children out of the home. This new round of investment will allow us to rapidly scale our operations at Hoop, enabling us to build a world class tool for organisers to reach new audiences, and continue improving the way we help families discover what’s on for their kids.”

He adds: “We have worked with CMS since day one at Hoop and value their team's support and expertise as we continue to grow. Their team understand the needs of fast moving start-ups, providing the legal support and guidance we needed to close our recent Series A round.”

Partner Anthony Waller and Senior Associate Sam Pout led the CMS team advising Hoop.