Top 50 Beauty Startup Investors in United Kingdom in May 2025

Samos Investments is a private equity investor with a focus on high-growth European businesses.Samos invests across a range of sectors including digital media, e-commerce, retail, financial services, energy and natural resources.Samos takes a proactive approach with its portfolio companies, working alongside many of the US and Europe’s topventure funds, family offices and private investors.The Samos Partners are also active angel/seed investors.

A Venture Capital Firm for the creative class

In the two decades since our founding, we have worked with hundreds of extraordinary European founders, and have raised eight funds totalling more than $3bn.

QVentures sources, screens, and invests in top-tier start-ups from Seed to Series B. Our investors consist of Family Offices, Institutional Investors, UHNWIs, and Cashed-out Entrepreneurs. We look for disruptive companies with a proven product-market fit, set to scale from Seed to Series B. We focus on Enterprise SaaS, Marketplaces, Consumer Tech,FinTech, AdTech, EdTech, InsurTech and HealthTech and more. We look for quality management teams, large addressable markets, proven traction, sustainable business models, route to scale and quality investors.To apply for investment, please fill out this short form to be reviewed: https://qventures.typeform.com/to/zZPOWf

Ascension is an early-stage VC built by exited entrepreneurs to back the next generation of tech and impact founders.Run by an experienced and diverse team of successful entrepreneurs, we have been relentlessly dedicated to finding the UK’s best Seed-stage startups since 2014.Ascension benefits from the active industry connections essential forthe sourcing and development of deal-flow and due diligence. The team has co-invested with the UK’s leading angels and VCs, key to securing follow-on funding as the portfolio businesses move to their next stage of growth.We believe in building an inclusive, community driven brand that can benefit the wider UK tech ecosystem and strive to work with conviction, integrity, humour, and humility.

MEVP is a Middle East-focused venture capital firm that invests in the early and growth stages of innovative tech companies run by talented entrepreneurs in the Middle East with a focus on the GCC and Levant countries. With a team of 20 VC professionals across offices in Dubai, Beirut, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, and Riyadh, MEVP manages 5 regional funds with more than USD 260 million in Assets Under Management. MEVP is the largest and most established VC firm in the region, with clear cross border investment appetite.

A unique model for investing, innovating & growing

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Mandeep Singh is an Angel investor at multiple firms. He previously was the founding CEO at Trouva. Mandeep Singh studied Physics at the University of Cambridge.

Index Ventures is an international venture capital firm with dual headquarters in San Francisco and London, investing in technology-enabled companies with a focus on e-commerce, fintech, mobility, gaming, infrastructure/AI, and security.

Online investing opportunities in the best new startup businesses, and raise seed and angel investment, with top European equity crowdfunding site Seedrs.

SOSV is a global, deep tech venture capital firm that operates the HAX and IndieBio startup development programs focused on human and planetary health. SOSV invests $500,000 in startups at their inception as they onboard either HAX or IndieBio for a 4-6 month period designed to accelerate the raise of their next institutional round. SOSV joins thelater rounds of HAX and IndieBio graduates. HAX, based in a 35,000 sq ft facility in Newark, NJ, is equipped with machine tools, 3D printers, chemical, electrical and mechanical engineering labs, as well as on-staff engineering and design experts. SOSV's IndieBio has locations in NYC and San Francisco, both of which offer extensive services and facilities to founders including on-site BSL-2 labs, well equipped lab benches and hoods, and advanced lab equipment, such as chromatography equipment.

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Passion Capital is a partnership of entrepreneurs and operators applying their experiences to helping founders and early-stage teams build great digital media/technology companies. They are Stefan Glaenzer, Eileen Burbidge and Robert Dighero.They have been personally involved in the largest European technology exits of the past decade,including the biggest exits of the year for 4 of the past 10 years by market value (Ricardo.de acquired by QXL, Skype purchased by Ebay, Last.fm acquired by CBS, and QXL/Tradus acquired by Naspers) and want to be involved in many more.They believe that the critical differentiator and key asset of a successful business is the passion and ability of its founders.They are committed to fostering an ecosystem of technology, collaboration and executional excellence in Europe. As an example of this, White Bear Yard is their own hub for activities, ambitions and energy and where have fun in the process.

Lakestar is a venture capital firm investing in technology companies led by exceptional entrepreneurs. Early investments included Skype, Spotify, Facebook, and Airbnb. Since raising the first fund in 2013, Lakestar manages an aggregated volume of over EUR 1bn across three early-stage funds, and more recently a growth fund. The company has expandedand broadened its portfolio and holds investments in the likes of Opendoor, Oscar, GetYourGuide, Glovo, Sender, Eigen, Five, Revolut, and Hometogo to name a few. Lakestar has a presence in Berlin, Zurich, and London.Lakestar helps companies to identify new markets and expand into them rapidly, with a focus on the US and Europe. The team advises and supports portfolio companies in business development, recruitment, technology, and marketing. The investments range from early-stage companies to those in their growth stage.

Molten Ventures is a venture capital company. They invest in software, telecoms, electronics, the internet, MedTech, and cleantech services. They support visionary entrepreneurs who will invent the future.

River Capital helps small and medium sized businesses to accelerate their growth and achieve their full potential.

Sebastian Picardo is an active investor and advisor in the global luxury goods sector.As an investor, he has been very active in the fashion, technology and media sectors for over 9 years, investing in companies like Net a porter, Lyst, Farfetch, Business of Fashion and Highsnobiety. He has also been a venture advisor to London-based FelixCapital, a leading Venture Capital firm investing in digital lifestyle start-ups, since 2014.As an advisor, he has helped brands and retailers in areas such as digital marketing, customer experience, omni-channel retailing and innovation, In addition, he has advised companies wanting to enter and market their brands in China mainland.Sebastian was formerly Deputy President of Asia’s iconic luxury department store Lane Crawford. Sebastian joined Lane Crawford in 2012. As a member of the senior management team, he crafted and drove Lane Crawford’s “connected commerce” strategy, underlying the company's focus on omni-channel retail development to deliver a seamless customer experience.Previous to Lane Crawford, Sebastian was with Burberry where he served as Managing Director - Digital Commerce, based in the London headquarters. Prior to this role, he had helped transform and integrate the brand's Spanish operations into the global business as Managing Director - Operations at Burberry Spain. Before joining Burberry, Sebastian had held various senior finance roles at Net-A-Porter, Alexander McQueen and Deloitte.Originally from Argentina, he is a Chartered Accountant, holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and a Master’s degree in International Finance. Most recently he attended Harvard Business School, where he successfully completed the Advanced Management Program.Sebastian lived in Buenos Aires, London, Barcelona and Hong Kong. He is fluent in Spanish, English, Italian and has an elementary command of Mandarin.

HELPING GREAT LEADERS LEAD GREAT COMPANIES

Pembroke VCT PLC is a venture capital trust specializing in investments in any stage of business development. Their focus is on companies in the health and fitness, hospitality, apparel, and accessories, and media and technology sectors.

Investing in powerful, positive change that endures

Sharmadean Reid - Chief Executive Officer @ The Stack World

Harry Blain

24Haymarket is an investment network which included several highly-experienced private equity and venture capital investors, seasoned entrepreneurs, and senior operators. Investing up to £5 million in growth companies in the UK and Europe. They invested their own capital in direct alignment with entrepreneurs and actively support their growthagenda and join the board of the companies in which they invest. Since inception in 2011, 24Haymarket has invested in more than 50 high-growth businesses.

Laura joined Balderton's investment team in 2018. She spent the previous three years advising technology startups across industries to develop and implement their fundraising and launch strategies as well as their financial and operational structure, in sectors ranging from online retail to healthcare and fintech.Laura was at Goldman Sachsfor five years, first in the Investment Management Division and subsequently the Financial Institutions Group in M&A.Laura undertook neuroscience research in the Brain Sciences Department of Imperial College's Faculty of Medicine. She was a Fulbright Scholar and gained her MBA from Harvard, and she studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the University of Oxford.Laura speaks fluent English and French and her primary focus is later stage investing with the Liquidity I fund.

Mike Wroe is the chief financial officer of Just Eat. Previously, he held the same position at Nexagent. Wroe holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nottingham. He resides in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom.

Goodwater Genesis is an investment firm.

David Pritchard serves as an advisor of Hassle.com. David was Founder and Managing Director of OpenTable Europe. David has enjoyed a 30 year transatlantic career as a senior operating executive in primarily US based software before becoming an angel investor.

Sirius Venture Partners GmbH is a venture capital firm specializing in seed, start-up, mid venture, and early venture investments. The firm seeks to invest between €0.15 million ($0.21 million) and €1.5 million ($2.1 million) in its portfolio companies. It would consider syndicated investments with private and public partners of up to €5 million ($6.95 million). The company typically acts as a lead or co-lead investor, takes a minority stake and a seat on the board or committee of its portfolio company. The firm typically exits its investment through IPO or trade sale. Sirius Venture Partners GmbH was founded in 2004 and is based in Wiesbaden, Germany with an additional office in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Exited Founder of DesignMyNight (Acquired 2019), Co-Founder trumpet, Founder of Venture Arm Horseplay Ventures, Angel Investor in 55+ Startups and Podcaster

Henkel was founded in 1876. People around the world trust Henkel’s brands and technologies. In the fiscal year 2015, the company reported sales of approx. 18 billion euros and an operating profit of 2.9 billion euros (adjusted for one-time gains/charges and restructuring charges). The DAX-30 company has its headquarters in Düsseldorf, Germany.Henkel employs about 50,000 people worldwide, more than 80 percent of whom work outside of Germany. Henkel is thus one of the most international German companies

FSE C.I.C. is an independent not-for-profit Community Interest Company (C.I.C.) whose surpluses are reinvested in the business, rather than being driven by the need to maximise profit for shareholders and owners. FSE C.I.C. has a number of subsidiary companies to deliver its funds and services, which are collectively referred to as The FSE Group.All regulated activities are delivered through FSE Fund Managers Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Finance East Limited delivers funding for businesses based in the East of England region.

Advancit Capital is a venture firm investing in media, technology and web3 startups. We partner with best-in-class entrepreneurs building the next generation of leading companies.

Lumia is an expansion-stage VC firm partnering with forward-thinking US and European innovators expanding internationally for breakout growth. Lumia employs a hands-on strategy, working closely with management teams by pairing Silicon Valley insights and contacts with global knowledge sharing and relationships to propel companies throughexpansion-stage challenges and opportunities.It prefers to invest in internet and software companies with a focus on SaaS, mobile, cloud computing, infrastructure, and big data. It typically invests between $3 million and $30 million in companies with greater than $10 million annualized net sales. Lumia also invests in select early stage opportunities via its "Telescope" program. The company focuses on investing in primary and secondary transactions and in common and preferred shares. Lumia Capital was founded by Martin Gedalin in 2011 and is headquartered in San Francisco.

Lawyer-turned-Entrepreneur-turned-Investor/Advisor

Backing great companies when they're tiny

Swedish entrepreneur Niklas Östberg is the Co-Founder and CEO of Delivery Hero. He holds a Master of Industrial Engineering & Management from Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm & ETH Zurich.Following five years as a management consultant at Oliver Wyman, Niklas co-founded Pizza.nu (later OnlinePizza.se) where he served as afull-time chairman. After winning the Swedish market he was responsible for building up market leading companies in online food ordering in Poland, Finland and Austria. In late 2010, Niklas convinced Team Europe to develop the concept to the German market under the name of Lieferheld (Lieferheld.de) and got the license to use the technology and know-how from the original Swedish company.After a successful market entry into the competitive German market, Niklas Östberg and his team decided to launch the business model internationally under the name of Delivery Hero in May 2011. The company has since then expanded the concept organically and through acquisitions into 34 international markets, and is today the largest global platform for online food ordering with 200,000+ local restaurants in its network, processing more than 10m orders monthly.What initially was a small vision narrowed to the Swedish market has today expanded into a global vision to provide a platform of choice, convenience, reliability and quality. Or, in essence, an entire food court in your pocket.Niklas’ vision is to transform the industry. Therefore services of Delivery Hero will reflect changing eating habits just as new opportunities in technology and logistics.

Misha is a serial entrepreneur with nearly two decades of experience founding and running successful technology companies.He started his first business, Fabric Technologies, building computers in his bedroom which grew to a team of over 120 people before a merger with a publicly listed competitor in 2011. He plays an active role in the Europeantech eco-system as an advisor, angel investor and mentor and currently serves on the Board at NEX Abide Financial and Workplace Fabric.In 2013, a chance meeting with adventurer and self-professed mapping geek, David Cowell sparked the beginning of his most ambitious project to date, combining his passion for mountains and technology – to build FATMAP, the world’s leading adventure platform and the most precise and detailed 3D map of the outdoors – a 1:1 map in virtual reality. Competing with established mapping giants has called for an innovative approach to business models and partnerships. Using gaming technology and disruptive models from the tech and music industry FATMAP is on a mission to map the world in human scale detail and build the highest resolution computational map of our planet.

Timon Afinsky

Rob Small - Founder @ Miniclip

Andrew Webster

Dr. Johann ‘Hansi’ Hansmann was born in Austria and studied economics in Vienna. He spent the major part of his professional life working as an executive in the pharmaceutical industry in Austria, Germany, UK and Spain. He gathered several years of entrepreneurial experience running successfully his own pharmaceutical company in Spain afterconducting a management buy-out of a big pharmaceutical plant, making an exit in 2003. Since this time he is active as investor and business angel. He currently holds investments with a geographical focus on Austria, Germany, UK and Spain both internet and in the health industry. He led Runtastic, shpock, mysugr and just recently durchblicker and Busuu to extraordinary exits. He was president of the ‘Austrian Angels Investors Association’ until 2021, was awarded 'Best European Early Stage Investor' in 2016 by eban.org and is now based in Vienna and tries to find spare time to ride his mountain bike.

Errol Damelin is the Founder, CEO, chairman, or original investor and backer of over 75 digital and tech companies around the world, including in the US, the UK, most of Europe, Israel, Indonesia, Brazil, Turkey, South Africa, and Nigeria. He concentrates his efforts on SaaS, fintech, crypto, marketplaces and data analytics as well as on health andwellness. He is also a technologist and has three granted patents to his name with another four pending.Among the companies co-founded by Damelin are groundbreaking fintech company Wonga, and SME banking startup Tide. His early investments include Wise, Cazoo, Purplebricks, K Health, YuLife, Sure, Demyst, Zoe, Farewill, CityMapper, Modifi, UnBabel, Thimble, HiBob, Modifi, Elliptic, Lendingkart, and VivaReal. Using his own personal equity, Damelin continues to invest early on in the next generation of entrepreneurs so that he can help them succeed. He is not an institutional VC fund and does not maximize the assets under his management. He best describes his approach as Riding Shotgun.Damelin's success as a founder has been recognized by The Guardian, which named him Digital Entrepreneur of the Year in 2011; by Ernst and Young, which named him the UK's Entrepreneur of the Year in 2011 as well; and by TechCrunch, which named him Founder of the Year in 2010.

James Watt is an Aberdeenshire entrepreneur who co-founded one of the world’s most popular craft breweries, BrewDog.Before embarking on a hop-fuelled journey that would change the face of the beer industry forever, James completed an honours degree in Law and Economics. It didn’t take long for him to discover that the corporate suit-and-tie worldof litigation and libel was not for him, so he packed in his career in a law after a few weeks, opting to return to the bitter cold shores of Northeast Scotland to join his father as a fully-qualified Deepsea Captain.At 24-years-old, James took a new path. Inspired by the bold and experimental beers being crafted by a new movement of brewers on the West Coast of the U.S, James joined forces with friend Martin Dickie, and together the pair started brewing their own beers in Martin’s mum’s garage. In a world dominated by cask bitters and mass-produced lagers, their penchant for heavily-hopped and relentlessly bitter beers made them a unique duo, especially in the town of Fraserburgh. Undeterred by opinion, they pursued their passion through meticulous study, experimentation and boundary-pushing ideas, hellbent on showcasing that beer could be more than just fizzy yellow liquid made by global dominating brewers.2007 was a seminal year for James. BrewDog became a reality, setting up shop on a derelict industrial estate in Fraserburgh between a needle exchange and ‘The Godfather of Carpets’. While Martin took the reins on brewing and production, James focused on growing the business, handling accounts and spearheading the brand’s new breed of irreverent marketing that grabbed headlines for years to come. Not only did the pair produce some of the most exciting beers the UK has ever seen, but James also led the charge on Equity for Punks, a ground-breaking new crowdfunding initiative that would be mirrored for years to come by other brands across the globe. In 2014, James was awarded Great British Entrepreneur of the Year. He is also one of only a handful of people in Europe holding the title of Master Cicerone5, a title reserved for only the most diligent beer experts. In 2016, he was awarded the MBE in the 2016 Queen’s Birthday Honours list. By this time, BrewDog was now 9 years old and boasted a 360-person strong workforce, 26 bars across the UK and Europe, as well as over 14,000 shareholders. Latter achievements include a number of publishing deals. James released Business for Punks: Break All The Rules – The BrewDog Way and co-wrote BrewDog: Craft Beer for the People. These books both showed the impact that BrewDog had on the beer, from both a business and marketing perspective, as well highlighting the importance of exceptional quality products in a world heavily populated by mainstream beer. But times were changing, and James was at the front of the pack, leading the way and carving a new path for the beer world.By 2019, James’ passion for sustainability had become integral to the brand. BrewDog was employing over 2,000 people at this time, with 100 bars located around the globe and over 130,000 Equity Punk shareholders. Amazing beer was still at the heart of everything James was doing, but building sustainability into this world was now not a question of if, but when.So, in 2020, BrewDog announced that they were the world’s first carbon negative brewery – a huge step that would see the industry take note and follow suit with commitments to change the way they do business. James worked closely with Small World Consulting’s Mike Berners-Lee to calculate the businesses carbon emissions and identify ways to reduce these through authentic reforestation programmes, which included a 9,308 acre plot of land in the Scottish Highlands and set forth to embark on one of the largest reforestation projects the UK has ever seen. In just 15 years, the beer world has transformed. Beyond the liquid in your glass, the breweries at the forefront of the movement are more than just suppliers of a product. They are social commentators, integral to local communities and beacons of quality and change. James has been paramount to these developments, showing that beer can be a force for good.

Target Global is a prominent European technology investment firm with a significant presence in the venture capital landscape, boasting over €3 billion in assets under management. The firm operates out of key tech hubs including London, Berlin, Tel Aviv, and Abu Dhabi, and has a rich portfolio featuring some of Europe's most successful techcompanies such as Revolut, Auto1, Copper, Delivery Hero, Docplanner, and Rapyd.Founding and GrowthTarget Global was established in 2015 by Shmuel Chafets and Yaron Valler, who brought a wealth of experience from their tenure at Hasso Plattner Ventures. Their professional partnership dates back 15 years to their time at Giza Venture Capital, a trailblazer in Israel's investment ecosystem, where they honed their investment acumen and industry foresight.Investment Philosophy and ImpactTarget Global stands out in the European tech industry for its diverse team and its ability to identify and capitalize on unique opportunities. The firm's knack for recognizing potential in the early stages of Germany's tech economy led to the emergence of several unicorns in the 2010s. As the European tech industry evolves, Target Global remains at the forefront, seeking out innovative companies like Robovision, Saleor, and Finom. These recent investments reflect the firm's commitment to supporting cutting-edge technology and business models.Fundraising SuccessesTarget Global's fundraising prowess is evident in its six investment funds, which have collectively raised significant capital. The funds range from Early Stage Funds, focusing on nascent startups, to Growth Funds that support more mature companies scaling their operations. The firm's co-investment strategy has led to over €1 billion in capital deployment across a diverse array of partnerships.Backing and AchievementsWith the backing of investors such as FERI, UBS, Allianz X, Mubadala, and Hermes GPE, Target Global has cemented its reputation as a trusted and successful investment firm. Its portfolio spans over 140 companies at various development stages, with a focus on those targeting trillion-dollar markets.Just a few of the many notable companies in the firm’s portfolio include:- Tarabut, MENA’s leading open banking platform, which was recently featured in Forbes Middle East’s list of Top 50 Fintech Companies.- Flo Health, an AI-driven women’s health product, which is the world’s top health and fitness app by downloads.- Robovision, an easy-to-use AI-driven computer vision platform for users to develop their own deep-learning-based solutions.- Enter, a German company that helps homeowners and businesses reduce their carbon footprint.Target Global's track record includes support for 15 unicorn companies, over 20 exits, and 7 IPOs, showcasing its ability to drive growth and success in the European tech ecosystem. The team, comprised of individuals with founder and operator backgrounds, continues to pursue exceptional opportunities to expand the firm's portfolio and influence.Target Global's journey from its inception to its current status as a key player in European venture capital is marked by strategic investments, a commitment to diversity, and a deep understanding of the tech industry's dynamics. With a clear vision for the future, Target Global is poised to continue its role in shaping the next wave of European tech giants.

For over 40 years, LDC has been the trusted investment partner for ambitious management teams. We invest in a diverse range of businesses across every region and sector of the UK economy.

Tom Adeyoola is Founder of Metail Limited until Chief Executive Officer.Tom Adeyoola spent more than ten years in various senior strategy and product development roles helping start-ups to devise and implement new business models and products. His career has spanned new media from Sportal to 3 and most recently Inspired Gaming Group where he servedas Head of Gaming. Tom Adeyoola is an Economics graduate from Cambridge.

Nikolay Piskunov is an investor.

Backing great companies when they're tiny

Hakan Koc is the founder and managing director of AUTO1 Group. He was previously the chief product officer at Home24.de. Koc holds an LLB from Bucerius Law School.