London-based media platform Sifted secures €4.7M funding; plans to double headcount

Sifted, a media platform focused on in-depth reporting, news, and analysis on European startups, announced that it has secured £4M (approx €4.7M) funding led by ScaleUp Capital. The Financial Times (FT) remains a core shareholder, and Sifted continues to license the FT brand.

The latest funding will enable Sifted to double headcount in the next 12 months, hiring across all teams from editorial to commercial and product to engineering. 

Currently, the company employs 15 journalists in London, Stockholm, Paris, Berlin, and Barcelona, with plans to expand its presence across the region.

Caspar Woolley, Sifted Co-Founder, says, “The hardest challenge for any startup is to scale, which is why we are delighted by ScaleUp Capital’s investment in Sifted – they are specialists in the game. ScaleUp Capital will work closely with our management team to scale up all of our operations and help take us to the next level.”

Founded by Caspar Woolley, and John Thornhill in 2008, Sifted has grown to a team of 40 with an editorial team that brings experience from the FT, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Dagens Industri, and Courier Magazine.

Investors

ScaleUp Capital (previously Root Capital) is a scale-up investor that helps B2B digital businesses scale through its Scaler Programme and Academy. 

The company acquire and/or invest £2-£10M into businesses with revenues usually between £1-£10M and an enterprise value of £2-£30M, and scale them to revenues of £10-£50M and an enterprise value of £20-£200M in 4-8 years.

Simon Philips, ScaleUp Capital CEO, says, “We are delighted to be leading on this investment round and adding Sifted to our roster of businesses. Sifted is a successful startup that has built an incredible team and following in just three years. Its growth trajectory is impressive, and the steps the business wants to take to expand on its offering and staff is exactly why we are excited to embark on this journey. We will work closely with their team to unleash their potential and witness them become a leading player in the market.”