Get A Drip, the UK provider of intravenous (IV) nutrient therapy has announced a £3.74m Series A funding to further drive its franchise expansion plans to launch an additional 28 health and wellness clinics.
Richard Chambers
The raise is being led by Nigel Wray, a former chairman of Saracens Rugby Club and known within the franchise sector for his investment in Domino’s Pizza.
Also garnering investment from Tony Buffin a former chief executive of Holland & Barrett, the clinics are scheduled to open within three to 12-months with a flagship clinic in London on the King’s Road, Chelsea, and overseas across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Australia.
In addition to its franchise rollout, Get A Drip explained that the new funding will be used to expand its current service offering of vitamin drips, vitamin injections and diagnostics to include further treatments such as cryotherapy, ozone, hyperbaric oxygen and red-light therapies.
Get A Drip said that it achieved an annual turnover of £2.65m for 2021/22, with network sales projected to rise to £10m this tax year; and five years since launching it had completed on a new 5,000 sq. ft. head office in Letchworth, Hertfordshire.
Catalyst for setting up the business
Richard Chambers, chief executive and founder of Get A Drip said he was inspired to launch the clinics after he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on his 18th birthday which led to him being admitted to intensive care three years later suffering complications.
Over a seven-year period he was in and out of hospital due to a weakened immune system and it was his time in hospital, overwhelmed by the benefits of IV treatment as a major factor in his recovery, that acted as the catalyst for setting up the business of providing accessible IV treatments to support health.
Expressing his excitement in the Series A funding, Chambers said: “When I set up Get A Drip five years ago the goal was to democratise the IV drip space having felt the benefits first-hand. To now be at a point where we’re looking even further beyond that, and at how we can make a whole suite of health and wellness technologies more accessible to consumers to improve their wellbeing is really exciting.
“To have investors with the experience of Nigel and Tony on board shows how far we have come in a short space of time, and their support and advice will no doubt only further our ambitious growth plans, building out our franchise portfolio and driving the business forward.”
Get A Drip said the investment comes at a time when the wellness market is growing, lead investor Wray comments: “When I first invested in Domino’s there were only 72 stores in the UK while there were over 4,000 in the U.S., so the potential was clear. Get A Drip presents an equally clear growth opportunity as there are now over 3,000 vitamin drip or injection clinics in the U.S. but considerably less here in the UK.
“Looking at the research we know over a third of the UK population supplement their diet with daily vitamins too, so the market is there. I think there’s huge untapped potential in the way in which Get A Drip are democratising wellness services to open up accessibility beyond the super wealthy and in hospitals.”
Get A Drip adds that with more than 35 medical professionals having administered over 40,000 vitamin drips and intramuscular (IM) booster shots, across seven clinics in London, Dublin and Rotterdam and six mobile clinics within the M25, the North East and the South East of England, Chambers’ is excited for the brand’s future:
“Our vitamin drips provide an alternative, more efficient and cost-effective way for people to supplement their diet to meet the extensive list of vitamins and minerals required to maintain optimum bodily function, and this raise furthers our commitment to delivering the very best health and wellness treatments to consumers.”
To ensure the safety of customers, Get A Drip’s clinics in the UK are CQC (Care Quality Commission) registered and the clinics only employ registered nurses, doctors, pharmacists, dietitians and nutritionists.
Posted: 19th October, 2022