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Meet the mattress startup that's hoping to follow in the footsteps of US giant Casper

London-based mattress startup Simba is hoping to get a jump on its rivals after securing £5m investment in a new funding round that has drawn backing from some well-known angel investors.

The business, which has only been in operation for seven months, drew backing from Spark Ventures and The Garage Soho, as well as a line-up of angels that includes lastminute.com backer Tom Teichman and Innocent Drinks founders Richard Reed, Adam Balon and Jon Wright.

In its short existence, the online mattress retailer has managed to shift 15,000 mattresses and says it leads the UK market by over 20%, ahead of rivals eve Sleep and Caspers with whom the startup is engaged in a high-profile publicity battle for customers.

With total investment in the company now at £8.5m, Simba now plans to strengthen its sales proposition internationally after finding success in the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

Outlining the startup’s expansion plans, Chief Executive and co-founder James Cox commented: “Casper was only founded in the US in 2014 yet has achieved staggering results turning over circa. $100 million+ last year alone.

“We are now leaders in the UK and will have launched across Europe, Asia and North America by the end of the year. We love the challenge and embrace the competition.”

Simba has also announced that it has struck an exclusive deal with John Lewis which will see its range of mattresses stocked and on display in all of the department stores 45 outlets across the UK.

Former Domino’s Pizza backer, Nigel Wray, who also contributed to this latest funding round, added: “Since launching in February, Simba’s remarkable growth is a testament to its product innovation and premium high–tech positioning.

“Simba has a clear product differentiation at an attractive price with a customer friendly mattress-in-a-box format. I’m really pleased to be involved in the Simba evolution.”

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