Forward Partners Group plc

("Forward Partners" or "the Group")

£1.0m investment into Hospitality Management Platform, Dines

Forward Partners Group plc (LSE: FWD), the London-based investment firm specialising in supporting high-growth, early-stage technology businesses, announces that it has made a £1.0m investment into Dines, a hospitality management platform.

Forwards Partners led the £1.6m seed round, investing £1.0m alongside Ascension and existing investors.

Dines (https://dines.co.uk) is a hospitality management platform. The company - dubbed as 'The Hospitality Operating System' - enables businesses to run their operations through a single, powerful, omnichannel platform. It has proven to unlock significant cost savings and better customer experiences. Clients include the Delfont Mackintosh Theatres estate across the London West End, the Underbelly Group which runs large-scale events including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and the Shard's skyline bar and viewing gallery.

The company will use the funds to continue its expansion across the UK.

Nic Brisbourne, CEO at Forward Partners, commented: "We're excited to announce our new investment into Dines, adding a company which is revolutionising the way that hospitality businesses operate to our portfolio.

The hotels, restaurants, theatres, pubs and festivals that power this industry not only deliver experiences that enrich people's lives, but they also contribute massively to UK economy. Despite this, they are under severe margin pressure and highly sensitive to changes in consumer spending. To succeed, they need to optimise every aspect of their business - from marketing to booking, ordering to payroll - but solutions are few and far between.

Dines exists to help these businesses thrive. Their disruptive product provides a 'one-stop shop' for hospitality operations and has been shown to improve top and bottom lines whilst boosting service levels. We've seen the industry take notice and look forward to seeing how the team use this investment round to grow their product and customer base."

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About Forward Partners

Founded in 2013, Forward Partners is an established and respected London-based venture capital firm, specialising in supporting high growth, early-stage technology businesses in the UK.

The Group brings together venture capital provider Forward Ventures and highly specialised growth support from Forward Studio. This model supports founders to build stronger businesses faster to provide better outcomes for companies and investors alike.

The Group makes equity investments in early-stage, high-growth UK companies, and from inception to its admission to London's AIM market in July 2021 had made over 60 unique investments and built a portfolio with an Initial Portfolio NAV in excess of £100m. It holds a nine-year track record of making venture capital investments, and targets underlying NAV growth of 20% per annum over the cycle.

The management team brings together highly experienced venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and expert consultants. Since 2015, Forward Partners has been backed by BlackRock, one of the largest institutional investors in the world. The Group receives over 4,000 start-up funding applications every year.

For more information, visit https://forwardpartners.com