An investor in YouTube content creators, including the Sidemen, has secured £80m in new funding from investors, one of whom is a firm chaired by George Osborne, the former chancellor.
Sky News has learned that Viewture, founded in 2020, will announce new debt and equity funding packages next week, led by Lingotto, an investment vehicle of Italy’s Agnelli business dynasty.
Mr. Osborne heads Lingotto’s investment management arm.
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The majority of Viewture’s £80m funding is in the form of debt, providing additional capital to support content creators, primarily on YouTube, which is owned by Google.
Permira, a private equity firm that had previously provided funding to Viewture, has been repaid as part of this deal.
The remaining portion of the new funding includes a Series A equity round with commitments from Bolt Ventures, a family-owned venture capital firm, and Lexham Partners, a London-based supporter of early-stage technology companies.
Viewture offers upfront capital and rights protection to content creators in response to the increasing threat of online piracy and content theft.
In exchange, Viewture receives a percentage of future earnings from its content partners.
The company was established and is led by CEO David Page.
Its key partnership is with the Sidemen, a group of YouTubers with over 22 million subscribers on their main channel.
Viewture provided funding to the Sidemen to assist their channel, along with various services to aid in its management.
Other creators that Viewture collaborates with include a chef known as Mr. Make It Happen, who has 1.4 million YouTube subscribers.
The company has also worked with MrBeast, a highly popular online personality.
«I firmly believe that these individuals are the brands of the future,» Mr. Page stated in an interview with The Times last year. «Kids are more engaged with personalities like MrBeast and the Sidemen than any other brands.»
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Viewture has been reached out to for comment regarding its latest funding injection.