Bristol impact investor BBRC (Bristol & Bath Regional Capital) has backed the city’s unique Wake The Tiger immersive visitor attraction with funding worth £350,000 to support the next stage of its ambitious growth.
The ‘amazement park’, pictured, opened its long-awaited 1,000 sq m OUTERverse second phase to the public two weeks ago, doubling its size and adding 15 new walk-through fantasy art spaces and environments.
BBRC’s investment, made through its City Funds impact investment fund, complements a total fundraising £2m by Wake The Tiger which combines £1m of secured debt – partly from the Creative Growth Fund – and £1m in new equity.
BBRC said the impact of the investment extended beyond the growth in visitor numbers as the team behind Wake The Tiger was committed to developing an education and training pathway that empowered underrepresented communities to access the creative sector.
This includes community tickets, school visits, educational partnerships and work experience placements, apprenticeships and an employment policy targeting underrepresented groups.
Wake The Tiger managing director Graham MacVoy, pictured, said: “Since we launched in Bristol nearly three years ago, we’ve had such a warm welcome and great response from our visitors.
“We are excited to be able to deliver our ambitious growth plans and make sure that, through this growth, we are reaching everyone across the city and increasing access to and opportunities in the creative sector.
“We are delighted to have secured this investment from City Funds and can’t wait to reveal our newly expanded site and programme in the next few weeks.”
BBRC investment director Jari Moate added: “Wake The Tiger plays an exciting role in raising awareness of how together we can see and shape a better world, reversing some of our worst global fears, in this case using a high quality, fun, engaging work of Bristol-made art.
“For the city’s creative industries, especially those who operate in it and those considering a career in it, this is a must-visit destination. We are delighted to be on the journey with them.”
City Funds is a £10m, 10-year, place-based impact fund launched in 2019 and managed by BBRC.
It invests in social enterprises, enterprising charities and impact-driven businesses in the Bristol region aiming to solve some of the biggest problems in the city. So far almost £9m of the total fund has been deployed.
Images by Andre Pattenden
