Tortoise raises £10m in series A funding round

By Andrew Kersley

“Slow news” start-up Tortoise has secured £10m of new funding to invest in audio journalism, events and growing its membership revenue.

The largest investor in the series A funding deal was investment management company Lansdowne Partners. It will now become a significant shareholder in Tortoise alongside Thomson Reuters chair David Thomson’s investment firm Woodbridge, one of the largest investors in the group’s initial seed round in 2018.

Press Gazette understands the outlet has grown its paid membership to 55,000 since its full launch in 2019, marking a 5,000 increase in paid membership since October last year.

In its latest published accounts, for the year to December 2020, Tortoise recorded a total loss to date of £8.5m compared to a loss to date of £5.4m in 2019.

Source: Press Gazette

Deal value: £10m

Country: UK

Status: Official