# Darren Shapland

> Darren Shapland is a seed investor in Hever backing SaaS and Banking. See 4 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Location: Hever, United Kingdom
- Total investments: 4
- Last investment: Nov 2021
- Lead investor: 0%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/darren-shapland-25b06b4

Darren Shapland is a seed investor in Hever focused on SaaS and Banking. Darren is Chairman of Poundland Group plc and was appointed Chairman of Maplin Electronics Limited in August 2014, Chairman of Topps Tiles Plc in March 2015 and Chairman of Notonthehighstreet.com in June 2015. He retired from his position as a Non Executive Director and as Chairman of the Audit Committee of Ladbrokes Plc on 24 September 2015.Between 2012 and 2013 he was Chief Executive Officer of Carpetright Plc. Prior to that, Mr Shapland was J Sainsbury plc Chief Financial Officer from 2005 to 2010 and Group Development Director from 2010 to 2011. He was also Chairman of Sainsbury’s Bank. Previously, Mr Shapland was Group Finance Director of Carpetright plc between 2002 and 2005, Finance Director of Superdrug Stores plc between 2000 and 2002 and held a variety of positions with the Burton Group and Arcadia.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Darren Shapland: work email, personal email, work phone, personal phone and socials. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-email/darren-shapland?utm_source=investor_profile

## Round sizes

| Stage | Round size |
| --- | --- |
| Seed | $1.8M–$2.9M |

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SaaS | 1 | 25% |
| Banking | 1 | 25% |
| FinTech | 1 | 25% |
| Grocery | 1 | 25% |
| Software | 1 | 25% |

18 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 2 | 50% |
| Pre-Seed | 1 | 25% |
| Series A | 1 | 25% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oja | Oja is an online supermarket that delivers cultural, ethnic & specialist groceries and products straight to your door. We are transforming the way people access ethnic products by connecting and digitising products hard to find in your local supermarket and offering fast & transparent delivery. | $3.3M | Pre-Seed | Nov 11, 2021 | https://oja.app |
| Breedr | Breedr is a productivity and marketing platform that’s transforming the livestock supply-chain.Breedr Tools is a comprehensive set of digital tools designed for livestock management, tailored to meet the unique needs of farmers. The Livestock App serves as the central platform for monitoring and tracking essential livestock data, simplifying themanagement process. The Livestock Market facilitates efficient buying and selling of livestock, connecting farmers to a broader network of potential buyers and sellers.Moreover, Breedr Tools includes specialized features for managing finances effectively, with the Cashflow tool providing insights into income and expenses related to livestock. The Farm System offers a holistic view of the farming operation, integrating data from various aspects such as livestock, crops, and resources to aid in decision-making and optimization.The software also provides separate modules for Suckler, Finisher, and Rearer management, each tailored to address the unique requirements of different animal growth stages. Additionally, Breedr Tools offers dedicated features and modules for Sheep farming, catering to the specific needs of sheep farmers.In conclusion, Breedr Tools empowers livestock farmers with data-driven insights and efficient tools, fostering productivity and streamlining operations to achieve success in their farming endeavors. | $2.9M | Seed | Mar 14, 2019 | https://www.breedr.co |
| Signal AI | Signal AI is an AI-powered business intelligence and media monitoring company that aggregates, analyses, and provides business leaders with insights into digital, print and broadcast media, news, and regulatory data. Signal AI’s machine learning enables businesses to track their competitive landscape, changes to regulation, and monitor theirreputation—empowering them to make smarter, faster business decisions.The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in London, England, United Kingdom. | $1.8M | Seed | Mar 31, 2015 | http://www.signal-ai.com |
| Osper | Osper is a prepaid debit card and mobile banking service empowering young people to manage their money responsibly by instilling good financial habits from an early age. It offers a safe regulated bank. Its application runs on Android and Osper is comprised of several investors, including Index Ventures, Horizons Ventures and a number of entrepreneurs, and individuals from the financial services market. To use the service, young people must be at least 8 years old, and must sign up with a parent or legal guardian. Their parents or guardians must be U.K. residents with a debit card from a U.K. bank.Osper was launched in 2012 by Alick Varma, who previously worked at | $10M | Series A | Jun 29, 2014 | http://osper.com |

4 of 4 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [LocalGlobe](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/localglobe) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Acequia Capital (AceCap)](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/acequia-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Frontline Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/frontline-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [HoaQ](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/hoaq) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Mons Investment](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/mons-investment) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [REV](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/reed-elsevier) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

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## FAQ

### What does Darren Shapland invest in?

Darren Shapland invests primarily in SaaS, Banking and FinTech startups, most often at Seed and Pre-Seed stage. Most of the 4 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United Kingdom. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### What is Darren Shapland's check size?

Darren Shapland typically joins rounds of $1.8M–$2.9M at Seed. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds Darren Shapland participates in.

### How do I contact Darren Shapland?

Public channels for Darren Shapland include LinkedIn. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### When did Darren Shapland last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Darren Shapland closed in Nov 2021. Shizune tracks 4 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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