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Killing Kittens, the UK sex party planner backed by the government, is raising funds for a global expansion and development of new services such as a permanent venue, cruise ship tours and a gay male venture.
KK Group, which operates as Killing Kittens, said it was “uniquely positioned” to meet a growing need “as society shifts back to meaningful in-person connections”, according to an investor presentation seen by the Financial Times. The company wants to “scale globally and unify a premium adult market that currently lacks a true leader”.
As well as London, Killing Kittens has previously run events in New York and will relaunch its services in the city next year. It will also bring new events to Los Angeles, Lisbon, Venice and Paris.
Emma Sayle, KK Group‘s co-founder, wants to raise new money from retail investors in a funding round through crowdfunding platform Seedrs, which is expected to value the group at £10.5mn to invest in the next stage of its growth.
The presentation also disclosed that the group is in talks over additional debt financing, and has had discussions with M&A financiers to explore strategic opportunities for expansion.
KK Group said the “sex-positive space” remained highly fragmented, with numerous smaller web-based or app-based platforms such as Feeld, Pure and HUD vying for market share.
Sayle confirmed the plans to raise money, saying that she wanted to create a “big, open-minded ecosystem for your whole adult life”.
The company has already rolled out a dating app called Wax, which it said was being used by “hundreds of thousands” of people as a social media site. The KK Group estimates that the “sexscape niche” in the dating market is worth around $345mn.
The group said that there were more than 250,000 members for its services, and over 12,000 people attend its events every year. However, almost 90 per cent of revenues are UK-only, which has led to new plans for its global ambitions.
The company, founded in 2005, is taking its sex parties to cruise ships, with its maiden voyage planned for 2026 that has already generated £350,000 in room revenues in the first eight weeks on sale.
The group is also searching for its first dedicated Killing Kittens venue in London to host events, reduce costs and drive new revenues. A gay and bisexual male venture — called KK Homme — has also recently been launched.
The investor presentation said that the group was “a prime acquisition target for larger companies looking to diversify their portfolios”, while it could also explore a public listing on a smaller exchange such as AIM to provide an exit to investors in future.
The FT revealed in 2022 that the sex party planner has become part-owned by the UK government through the Future Fund — an investment scheme designed to support British fast growing tech-focused start-ups in the pandemic. The Future Fund still owns about 1.5 per cent of the company, according to a person close to the company.
The Future Fund has had mixed success, with about 286 of the 1,192 tech and early-stage businesses backed declared insolvent, losing the government £241mn as at 30 September 2024. The government has generated £76mn from 74 corporate exits.
