Hoberman firm raises £6m

New York-based investment house Level Equity has led the fund-raising, and was joined by PROfounders Capital, the London venture capital firm in which Hoberman is a partner.

Ning Li, Made's 29-year-old chief executive, founded the company in 2010, with Hoberman serving as chairman. The Notting Hill-based firm sells designer furniture at what it claims are "accessible factory prices" and has already collaborated with artists such as Damien Hirst, the Chapman Brothers and Ai Wei Wei.

Made, which has 45 employees, claims it has grown six-fold and is adding one more member of staff each week. Hoberman said the new investment would help Made to expand internationally. "Online furniture sales are set for continued dramatic growth," said Hoberman, who successfully floated travel business Lastminute in 2000 at the height of the first dot.com boom.

Made - which featured in the Evening Standard's weekly column on entrepreneurs last April - works by putting consumers directly in touch with producers, saving 50%-80% on price.

Li said a downturn was a good time to launch: "Consumers have not stopped buying. They have just become smarter. The mark-up you pay in the High Street is seven to 10 times what it is at the factory. For me the last innovation in furniture in Ikea and that's 60 years old." Li said the US backing showed the potential for growth.