DTC’s Daily Digest brings you the latest news on the world’s fastest growing direct-to-consumer brands. In today’s edition: Boll & Branch pushing into retail and wholesale; Tandem launches crowd-designed mortgages; Money Dashboard raises £4.6m. 

Boll & Branch pushing into retail and wholesale

Boll & Branch, which specialises in luxury, sustainably-sourced sheets, pillows, mattresses and towels has received a USD$100m (£82m) strategic investment from L Catterton, as it looks to jumpstart its growth with an investment from the private equity firm.

The investment will fuel Boll & Branch’s growth, accelerate the expansion of its retail and wholesale businesses, and support the continued success of its direct-to-consumer business, the company said.

Boll & Branch was founded in 2014  by Scott and Missy Tannen, who will continue to lead the company along with the current leadership team. According to the company, it has been profitable since 2016 as a family-owned-and-operated business. In October 2018, Boll & Branch opened its first - and so far only - retail store. 

“L Catterton brings unmatched experience in direct-to-consumer retail and home goods and is the ultimate value-added partner,” said Scott Tannen, CEO, Boll & Branch. Current and past investments  by L Catterton include The Honest Company, Peloton, Elemis, Mizzen+Main, Nutrafol, Restoration Hardware, Rhone, Third Love, and Tula.

Tandem launches crowd-designed mortgages

UK-based challenger bank Tandem has announced the impending launch of a new “crowd-designed” mortgage product for UK consumers.

In a release, Tandem said it plans to offer competitive mortgages to first-time buyers and property ladder hopefuls based on a range of financial data points.

Tandem said it wants consumers to be part of the design process by sharing their personal “must-haves” for a mortgage. Interested individuals may join a group of co-creators. Tandem will use the information garnered to ensure the new lending product services a real consumer need. The new mortgage product will then be tested with a small group of customers by the end of 2019 before a full UK launch in 2020, according to the company.

The new mortgage product will benefit from Open Banking as it seeks a fresh approach to identifying good borrowers via a new credit scoring model. Tandem expects to be able to offer mortgages to some people who may have been denied by traditional lenders.

Money Dashboard raises £4.6m

Edinburgh-based personal finance app Money Dashboard has raised £4.6m in funding. The round included £3.6m in crowdfunding from 3,300 backers via Crowdcube, with the remaining portion coming from Calculus Capital and Scottish Investment Bank.

The business is looking to use the funds to expand operations, business reach and to further develop its app. 

Launched in 2010 Money Dashboard provides a mobile app that allows people to view and manage all of their financial resources from a single dashboard. Users can visualise the information they need to make financial decisions with a view of how, when and where they’re spending money. 

They can also create budget plans for all the areas of spending that matter to them, take a look into their future by seeing predicted income, expenditure and balances, and view, edit and filter through all of their transactions across all accounts.

The company, which partners with over 70 financial institutions, as well as to crypto trading platform Coinbase, currently has more than 200,000 customers.

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