Harry Coe’s fast-growing sport sponsorship start-up raises £1m in seed funding

The London-based start-up uses proprietary software to guide brands and agencies towards the right partnership deals.

Jul 18, 2024 - 06:55
Harry Coe’s fast-growing sport sponsorship start-up raises £1m in seed funding

Clients of Harry Coe's Luscid include Santander, a partner of Ferrari

Luscid, the sport sponsorship tech platform set up by Harry Coe, son of athletics chief Lord Coe, will announce today that it has raised £1m in seed funding.

The London-based start-up uses proprietary software to guide brands and agencies towards the right partnership deals based on their particular demands, values and budget and already counts Santander, Accor and Binance among its clients.

Investors in the round include fundraising guru and Apple alumnus Craig Pollard, manufacturing entrepreneur Paul Stepanek, consultant Stuart Martin and others from the worlds of sport, entertainment and technology.

“The support of the investor group for this round of fundraising is incredibly important, as the expertise each and every one provides measures far beyond their financial support,” Luscid CEO Coe said.

“This investment will allow us to continue to grow apace, further developing our platform and expanding our global reach.”

Co-founder Damien Gillman said: “Compared to other marketing channels, the sponsorship space has been left behind, with data and analytics not playing a key part in the decision making process. 

“Our platform allows brands to identify partnerships that are most likely to resonate with their target audience, achieve their objectives and protect brand reputation and values.” 

Coe, whose father is not involved in the business, set up Luscid in 2022 after spotting the potential while working as a data analyst at an online sponsorship marketplace. 

Lord Coe (right) is not involved in son Harry's sport sponsorship business Luscid
Lord Coe (right) is not involved in son Harry’s sport sponsorship business Luscid

He added: “If you understand the interests of your customers and the best methods to communicate with them through those interests, combined with a pinpoint understanding of exactly which partnerships your marketing budget will allow you to create and which of those opportunities mirror the beliefs that you as a business want to project to the world, then you have the foundations of successful sponsorship. 

“Luscid does all these things more accurately and efficiently than any other software on the planet.”