Bristol’s Wake The Tiger, the world’s first ‘amazement park’, is to double in size after receiving a £500,000 investment from a specialist creative sector growth fund.
The walk-through experience, pictured, opened just over a year ago at a cost of around £2.5m in a former paint factory in the city’s once industrial heartland of St Philips.
Since then, more than 190,000 people have been thrilled by its 30 unique spaces, which encourage visitors to expand their imagination through sound, sight and touch.
Creative UK has now added Wake the Tiger to its Creative Growth Finance portfolio, meaning it will be able to meet its ambitions to double in size, creating another 850 sq m of immersive multi-sensory space.
The investment was secured by Creative UK’s Bristol-based investment team. The Creative Growth Finance operates in partnership with Triodos Bank, the Bristol-based sustainable bank.
Creative UK head of investment Matt Browning, pictured, said: “Opportunities to invest into something completely unique do not come along often and we are thrilled to be able to support Wake The Tiger with a truly innovative offer, providing cultural and entertainment experiences for Bristol.”
Wake The Tiger managing director Graham MacVoy, pictured, added: “Securing finance is difficult, particularly at this time in the creative sector, and the Creative Growth Finance team recognised our potential as a young business, as well as the synergy of our values, and came onboard to support us and help us grow.
“Wake The Tiger has outperformed all expectations with since opening last July.
“Our vision is to use the power of creativity to inspire a world that works for all. We are delighted about the traction we have made so far and our plan is to drive national footfall and add to the already incredible reputation Bristol has as a creative destination.”
Triodos Bank UK South West business banking manager Mavric Webbstock added: “Wake The Tiger is using art and creativity to bring people together and provoke thinking around important issues such as protecting the environment and social inclusion.
“What’s more, it’s pioneering tourism and investment in a traditionally industrial area of the city.
“It’s a great example of the kind of project that the Creative Growth Finance fund was set up to support and we look forward to seeing how it can grow its impact with this additional funding.”
Wake The Tiger invites its visitors to step through a portal into the alternate world of Meridia – a world not too dissimilar to our own, facing an environmental crisis, but not everything is as it seems.
Creative UK is the country’s leading creative industries investor and a strategic investment partner for growth-minded creative businesses.
Creative Growth Finance is a landmark fund providing vital scale-up finance to the UK’s most promising creative businesses. Partnering with Triodos Bank, it offers loans of £100,000 to £1m.
