Sheffield tech firm Pimoroni seeks £315k Crowdcube boost

Pimoroni, a DIY electronics manufacturer and online retailer, is looking for a six-figure boost to fuel its expansion into Europe.

The Sheffield-based company, which claims to be the first ever UK business to launch a campaign on crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, is making a fresh bid for £315k on Crowdcube to finance its growth ambitions.

Since it was established in 2012 with a £15k seed investment from friends and family, Pimoroni has grown 80% year on year to hit a turnover of over £1.5m.

Founders Jonathan Williamson and Paul Beech have attributed the growth to the rise of the ‘maker movement’, a global trend in consumers creating homemade electronic devices using DIY technology and kits.

Paul said: “We have a very loyal customer base and we’ve built up a solid reputation for making DIY electronics accessible for everyone.

“We want to open up a part of our company to that loyal community and give people the chance to purchase shares in the business and be a part of our future success.”

The firm has achieved global sales of 125k for its flagship product, a stackable, laser-cut case for the credit card-sized Raspberry Pi computer.

Cash raised in the Crowdcube campaign will be used to expand Pimoroni’s team of 19 employees with new engineers and content creators, as well as launching the brand and e-commerce site in western Europe.

The firm believes the expansion will grow its direct customer base by around 600%.

Paul continued: “This is a very exciting time for our company. We’ve grown quickly and built up a great following here in the UK.

“As the maker movement continues to increase in popularity, we want to increase our own presence and our product range too, taking the Pimoroni brand further afield into Europe.”

In 2012, Pimoroni raised £74k through a Kickstarter campaign to fund the rollout of its Picade kit, which lets users create mini arcade game cabinets using the Rasberry Pi or other small computers.

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