Watch: Insider's Business Briefing - 30th August
In today's business briefing, Robyn and Miri discuss: A gaming studio in Liverpool, a funding boost for a Manchester entrepreneur and the return of some popular Insider events
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00:00A gaming studio in Liverpool, a funding boost for a Manchester entrepreneur, and the return
00:05of some popular insider events. That's all coming up in today's Daily Business Briefing.
00:11Hello, I'm Robin Hewson. And I'm Miri Thomas.
00:19And welcome to today's Daily Briefing. So Miri, what's your top story for today?
00:23First up from me is Abracadabra Studio. So the gaming business, which is known for its
00:28Sharkbite series of games on the Roblox platform, they've taken up space in Prince's Dock in
00:33Liverpool Waters.
00:34Okay, there's a bit of a tech sort of gaming cluster starting there, isn't there?
00:38That's right. It seems like a collective under the umbrella of DevHouse UK. So what's exciting
00:43about this business is that they develop loads of games on Roblox. They've got probably more
00:48than, well, billions of users and then also 1 million members. It was founded by Max Entwistle
00:56and Simon Burgess. They met when they were just 12 and they shared a similar passion
01:00for Roblox. And then they learned how to build games on the platform.
01:04So interestingly, I did some Googling about our founders and I found that
01:08Simon Burgess is actually a collector of digital items. So he has loads of different digital items.
01:17But most recently, there was a digital necklace up for sale from Adidas. And this next necklace
01:24was diamond and gold. It was created in collaboration with Roblox's founder. And
01:29it had a price tag of 2 million Robux.
01:32Wow. What's that in real money?
01:34So Robux is a cryptocurrency in the game. But if you translated it to dollars, it would be about
01:40$20,000 or £15,000. So Simon Burgess bought this necklace for the equivalent of £15,000.
01:47But he also got some physical trainers and Adidas boots as part of the purchase.
01:52Wow. A bit of a bargain then, really.
01:54Yeah. Well, why not?
01:56Yeah.
01:57What have you seen today then?
01:59So sticking in the Northwest, I have a story from KBF Enterprises. They're a sports nutrition
02:04brand behind Warrior. You might have seen they do like protein bars, supplements, things like that.
02:09So they've received funding from Close Brothers to help reach their ambitious growth goals.
02:14And that's going to be invoice finance, stock funding and a term loan as well.
02:19And that's going to help them expand overseas as well as in the UK.
02:23So KBF had a really strong year. They've achieved a turnover of 39 million.
02:28And that's thanks to the growing demand for healthy snacks and
02:32drinks that they've really capitalized on.
02:34So they were founded by entrepreneur Kieran Fisher in 2008.
02:39And they've achieved amazing growth. In the last four years, that's been 50% growth every year.
02:43I know the name Kieran Fisher. Why is that ringing a bell with me?
02:46Yeah. So he's one of our 42 Under 42 from last year.
02:49And for those of you who don't know, the 42 Under 42 is where we profile the sort
02:53of up and coming young entrepreneurs across the region.
02:56So it's something we do every year. And Kieran was in last year's cohort.
03:00So this year, we're actually, well, we're just doing the list for this year at the moment.
03:04And that's going to be revealed in the October issue of Insider. So keep an eye out for that.
03:08We also every year put on a bit of an event for alumni and for the current cohort.
03:13So this year's event is on the 8th of October at the AO Arena.
03:17And that's open to everyone who's been in the 42s in the Northwest.
03:20So if that's you, make sure to grab a ticket.
03:23Wow. Insider is playing at arenas now.
03:25I know. Yeah, we're going up in the world.
03:28So it will be at the MES space, which is the new sort of
03:30private hospitality space within the AO. So yeah, really exciting.
03:34Right. And the last one for me today is another event related one.
03:37So it's our Northwest Residential Property Awards, which is now back for its 10th year.
03:43So we launched this back in 2016, and now this is the 10th annual dinner of these awards.
03:48And they celebrate residential projects,
03:51developments and the companies behind them right across the region.
03:55We've introduced two new categories this year.
03:57There's consultancy of the year, and there is also social housing development of the year.
04:02That's open for social housing and affordable housing.
04:06And we're looking for those schemes that have a really good
04:08social impact as well as really great environmental credentials.
04:12So if that's one of your developments and it was completed between the 1st of November 2023
04:17and right up to the end of October 24, and you can show us how successful it's been,
04:23then let us know you've got until the 3rd of October to enter.
04:26And you can find both me and Robin will be at the event on the 23rd of January.
04:31Yeah, we'll be there to celebrate with everyone.
04:33Exactly. So on our website, you can find out how to enter and how to buy tickets.
04:37So that's all we've got time for today.
04:39But if you want to hear any more about the events we mentioned or about the stories,
04:42then head to insidermedia.com for more information.