The UK's largest online marketplace for used photographic equipment

Launched in 2011, MPB is the UK’s largest dedicated online marketplace in used photographic equipment. Their proprietary technology manages the entire end-to-end experience for users buying, selling, or trading second-hand equipment, automating the creation of listings for more than 4,000 different product types and dynamically updating prices based on supply and demand. This provides users with superior transparency and consistency of product information, and ensures they receive competitive prices.

Backing MPB throughout its growth journey, we invested at each of the company’s series A, series B and series C rounds and remain its second largest institutional shareholder after a £50m Series D in 2021.

Investment rationale

In 2016, we invested £2.1m of growth capital to support the business’s international expansion into the US and German markets. Management has delivered exceptional growth ever since, In 2018 we co-invested with Beringea in a £5m round and in July 2019, we participated in a £9m Series C round, led by growth VC firm Acton Capital, to provide this exciting business with the further capital to build on its commercial opportunity and first-mover advantage. In 2021, MPB raised £49.8 million, led by Vitruvian Partners.

The company is focused on new product developments and technology that broadens the way people can access kit and brings more kit to more people.