Fashion startup USPL Raises $4.64 Mn Of Venture Debt Fund From Alteria Capital

Bengaluru-based fashion startup Universal Sportsbiz Pvt Ltd (USPL) has raised $4.64 Mn (INR 30 Cr) of venture debt fund from newly launched venture debt fund Alteria Capital.

The venture debt funding has come shortly after USPL raised a fresh round of investment of over $15.45 Mn (INR 100 Cr) from their existing investor Accel Partners in November, last year.

Commenting on the fundraise, Anjana Reddy, Founder & CEO of USPL stated, “Taking venture debt from Alteria was a simple decision given the relationship involved and their understanding of startups as well as expertise in debt structuring. High growth companies need access to multivariate sources of capital and it is great for Indian startups to have more access to Venture Debt.”

Backed by Sachin Tendulkar, co-owned by Virat Kohli, the fashion startup USPL was founded by Anjana Reddy in 2012. The USPL’s portfolio of brands includes WROGN, a men’s casual wear brand inspired by Team India Captain Virat Kohli. While Imara is a contemporary women’s ethnic fashion brand and Ms Taken is a signature women’s western wearline.

Speaking about the investment, Vinod Murali, Co-founder & Managing Partner, Alteria Capital stated, “Anjana has consistently delivered on stated objectives and built a great team to take the business to the next level. She has built a very strong business with three contemporary brands including Wrogn and India is starved of good local brands, especially in the apparel segment.”

The venture debt fund in USPL is the second investment from Alteria Capital’s maiden $154.5 Mn fund. Alteria had recently announced its first investment in foodtech startup Fingerlix (Maverix Platforms Pvt Ltd).

Ajay Hattangdi, Co-founder & Managing Partner, Alteria Capital said, “The consumer segment in India is looking very attractive and USPL is very well positioned to emerge as a winner in this space.”

Recently launched by Ajay Hattangdi and Vinod Murali, Alteria Capital is a venture debt fund with an $123.6 Mn (INR800 Cr) corpus and a greenshoe option of $31 Mn (INR 200 Cr). Alteria had announced a first close in February 2018 with $55 Mn (INR356 Cr) of commitments which included anchor investments from IndusInd Bank and a large Indian family office foundation.

As per the commitments, Alteria will provide venture debt to high growth, innovative Indian startups with a cheque size range of $311K – 15.45 Mn (INR 2 Cr – INR100 Cr). The fund will be used to back VC-funded startups across diverse sectors, including consumer, technology, healthcare, logistics, education technology and food technology, among others. The venture debt firm will primarily look at Series A to late stage startups.

While the venture debt fund Alteria Capital has now successfully closed investments in two startups USPL and Fingerlix in the last one month, the fund aims to invest in 80-100 startups in the course of next three to four years.

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