Bristol-based immersive visitor attraction Wake The Tiger has secured an investment of £350,000. The multi-sensory art experience - billed as the world's first 'Amazement Park' - was founded by the organisers of music festival Boomtown Fair.
The attraction secured its latest round of funding through local impact investors BBRC (Bristol and Bath Regional Capital) to support its next stage of growth.
Wake The Tiger has just finished the new OUTERverse - the second stage of its development of the St Phillips site, which has doubled the size of the visitor experience and is now open to the public. Last year, the attraction secured £500,000 from non-profit Creative 海角视频 and saw more than 250,000 visitors through its doors.
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The latest investment from the City Funds impact investment fund, which is managed by BBRC, will complement a total fundraising effort of £2m, combining £1m of secured debt, partly from the Creative Growth Fund, and £1m in new equity.
Wake The Tiger said the cash would be used to grow visitor numbers but also to develop an education and training pathway for under-represented communities to access the creative sector. Its engagement strategy includes community tickets, school visits, educational partnerships and work experience placements, apprenticeships and an employment policy targeting under-represented groups.
Graham MacVoy, managing director at Wake The Tiger, said: “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.”
Jari Moate, investment director at Bristol and Bath Regional Capital, 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."
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City Funds is a £10m, 10-year, place-based impact fund launched in 2019, managed by BBRC. The fund invests in social enterprises, enterprising charities and impact-driven businesses in the Bristol region which are aiming to solve some of the biggest problems in the city. To date, BBRC has deployed almost £9m of the total fund.
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