Former McLaren boss Ron Dennis takes 10pc stake in music streaming start-up backed by Robbie Williams
A British music streaming start-up has secured investment from the founder and former chief executive of McLaren Group Ron Dennis as it prepares for a float next year.
Roxi, a UK company which develops a music streaming TV box and a singalong microphone, is planning to launch a much-delayed initial public offering next year.
The start-up has gained celebrity backers such as Robbie Williams, Sheryl Crow, Alesha Dixon and Stephen Fry, all of whom appear in its marketing material. It is understood to have raised a total of £15m in funding following the latest investment, which sees Mr Dennis take a 10pc stake.
Roxi is pitching its product as a cure to screen addiction, creating a family friendly music streaming app that can also be used as a karaoke set-up. It launched a revamped version of its £99 music box on Thursday.
Mr Dennis said he invested after seeing the company’s desire to offer “an antidote to small screen addiction” and concerns that “sit with every parent when watching their children” on their smartphones.
Mr Dennis quit Formula 1 in 2017 after 37 years with McLaren. He joined the racing team in 1980 and later founded McLaren Technologies Group, leading the company while working with drivers such as Niki Lauda and current world champion Lewis Hamilton. He was ultimately forced out of the company in 2016 and later sold his stake in the company.
Although Roxi has enlisted a roster of celebrity backers, its plans for an initial public offering have been mooted since 2017 and repeatedly pushed back.
Its chief executive and founder, Rob Lewis, announced in August 2017 it was planning to float and had secured a pre-IPO funding round of $14m (£10.5m). However, the float was pulled and much of that funding round did not progress.
It has since received private investment from Henrik Holmark, the former finance chief of music service Pandora, and Nigel Wray, owner of Saracens rugby club.
As well as offering access to music streaming, a number of the stars linked to the service provide customised playlists and content.
Its new product is now significantly cheaper than its original £179 box, which was first announced in 2015 but itself delayed, and Roxi will sell it direct to consumers through its website in time for Christmas.
Mr Lewis said having Mr Dennis on board would help launch Roxi to “more families, more rapidly, in more countries” and cut the time “isolated on smartphones and tablets”.
It plans to launch a major TV advertising drive on Sky ahead of Christmas to ramp up sales of its product.
Earlier this year, Mr Lewis told The Telegraph that it had been a “very long, arduous journey”.
