Killa Brush raises £2.7m from Arete Capital Partners
This article covers Killa Brush, a hair and scalp health startup, which has raised £2.7m in a growth funding round from Arete Capital Partners to accelerate its product line and expand in the UK and overseas. The funding will support strengthening management and operations, faster UK and international expansion, and development of a broader product pipeline for consumers and retail partners.
Killa Brush has raised £2.7m in a growth funding round from Arete Capital Partners to accelerate its hair and scalp health product line and expand in the UK and overseas. The investment will be used to build management and operational capacity, speed up international growth and develop a broader product pipeline for a category the founders say has seen little meaningful innovation.
Why it matters
The deal highlights investor appetite for consumer brands led by founders with proven exits and category expertise. Killa Brush is positioning itself not simply as a new brush maker but as the base for a wider hair and scalp health platform, aiming to bring hygiene, design and scalp-focused performance into a product area that has changed comparatively little.
Early commercial traction includes a listing with LOOKFANTASTIC and a partnership with celebrity entrepreneur Rochelle Humes and her brand My Little Coco to build awareness among Killa Brush’s target audience. That retail and influencer-led approach is a common route for beauty businesses seeking fast consumer adoption.
Inside the product
Killa Brush’s core proposition blends brush design with hygiene and scalp-care claims, aiming to address consumer interest in scalp health and better daily tools. The company intends to expand beyond a single brush into a broader product range across hair and scalp health, using the fresh funding to accelerate product development and distribution.
The business will invest the new capital in strengthening its management team and operations to support faster UK growth and international roll-out.
Who are the investors?
The round is led by Arete Capital Partners, which will also take a board seat: Mike Fletcher, managing partner at Arete, joins Killa Brush’s board as a director.
In the announcement, Mike Fletcher, Managing Partner at Arete Capital Partners, said:
A major part of our investment approach is backing high-quality entrepreneurs who have already demonstrated their ability to build successful businesses in markets they understand exceptionally well. Penny and Matt have exactly that experience we look for, and it was a significant part of what attracted us to Killa Brush. Hair and beauty has evolved enormously in recent years, yet the traditional hairbrush has seen relatively little meaningful innovation. The Killa Brush team has approached the category differently, bringing together product performance, scalp health and a strong consumer brand proposition. We are investing at an exciting stage in the company's development. There is a clear ambition to build the business domestically and internationally, supported by an extensive product development pipeline, and we look forward to working closely with Penny, Matt and the wider team as they deliver that plan.
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Founder perspective
Killa Brush was founded by Penelope Cheshire and Matt Lumb, who together bring extensive experience in hair and beauty brands, retail and international distribution. Cheshire, now CEO, previously started Beauty Works from her home and grew it into a global hair brand with international distribution and roughly £50m in turnover before private equity firm L Catterton acquired it in 2021. Lumb, now COO, previously ran Tangle Teezer as CEO. The pair cite more than 25 years of combined experience building consumer hair businesses.
In the announcement, Penelope Cheshire, Co-founder & CEO at Killa Brush, said:
What I've always liked about Arete is that they provide more than just the capital. They bring 'real world' experience, relationships, know-how and practical support to the entrepreneurs and businesses they back. I've known and invested alongside the team for a number of years, so when the opportunity came for them to invest in our business, I already knew the people and the way they worked. This investment gives us the platform to accelerate our plans for Killa Brush, both in the UK and internationally, while continuing to develop products that bring genuine innovation to the category.
The bigger picture
The investment in Killa Brush sits within a wider trend of backers favouring founder-led consumer brands that combine product innovation with established retail routes and influencer partnerships. For UK beauty entrepreneurs, the combination of proven founder track records, retail listings and targeted brand collaborations remains an attractive path to scale.
This deal also underlines continued interest from investors in UK consumer beauty businesses as they look to capture growing consumer focus on scalp health and everyday grooming products, while using retail and celebrity partnerships to drive awareness in domestic and international markets.
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