AN online furniture and homewares retailer based in Glasgow has announced Sir Terry Leahy is to become an adviser to its board and invest in the company as part of a £1.5 million fundraising initiative.
Occa-Home said it had attracted a number of new backers as well as continuing to receive support from those who have put money into the company in the past.
New shareholders also include Artemis Fund Managers and a consortium of private equity funds.
Existing stakeholder William Currie Group, which was an early backer of online retailers ASOS and The Hut, and Scottish entrepreneur Bill Dobbie, chief executive of online dating business Cupid, has invested again in Occa-Home.
Dobbie gave some initial seed funding to the business and then continued his support last year alongside a "significant" but undisclosed investment by William Currie Group.
Occa-Home plans to use the cash to help fund growth in the coming years.
That will involve expanding its technology, creative and marketing teams while also extending its range of brands and products.
Alongside the fundraising, Occa-Home has appointed Jill Little, previously the buying, merchandising and strategy director at John Lewis Partnership, as a non-executive director to continue the development of its board.
That builds on the appointment of Robert Willet, previously at Accenture and Best Buy International, who joined as chairman during the summer.
Kate Mooney, founder and chief executive, is excited by the prospects for growth and is looking forward to learning from the new people introduced to the business.
She said: "We are delighted to welcome our new shareholders and advisers to Occa, many of whom bring extensive e-commerce experience to business.
"We're thrilled to be working with retail stalwarts including Sir Terry and Jill Little, as we go for significant growth over the next three years."
Sir Terry is a former Tesco chief executive who now has a number of non-executive and advisory roles in businesses and organisations of different sizes.
Among his investments is a stake in Borders-based online tyre retailer Blackcircles, which also has a strategic partnership with Tesco.
Occa-Home, which was founded in 2009, stocks a wide range of upmarket products from dozens of brands such as Anglepoise, Calvin Klein, Versace, Vivienne Westwood, Missoni and Timorous Beasties.
It also offers interior design services to its customers. Ms Mooney had been running Occa-Design, which mainly focused on hotel interiors in 2003, before launching her online venture six years later.
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