London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 11, 2025

British taxpayers take stake in sex party planning firm Killing Kittens

British taxpayers take stake in sex party planning firm Killing Kittens

Company given support from fund set up by government to provide loans to startups during pandemic
Taxpayers have become shareholders in Killing Kittens, a sex party organiser, alongside a business looking to bring airships back to the skies, as part of the fallout from a government rescue funding scheme set up during the coronavirus pandemic.

The taxpayer-backed British Business Bank’s Future Fund, set up by the government to provide loans to startups during the pandemic, has spent about £1.14bn supporting 1,190 companies.

The latest investment to emerge is Killing Kittens, set up in 2005 by Emma Sayle, a schoolfriend of the Duchess of Cambridge. The company, known for its exclusive and hedonistic events, has hosted members-only events in major cities around the world and has also developed an adult-only social network.

The company, which turned to the chancellor Rishi Sunak’s scheme to stay in business as the pandemic forced it to cancel live events, was valued at £5m in 2018 and £10m in 2019.

Sayle told the Financial Times, which first reported the investment, that the sextech firm raised £1m in its latest funding round, which valued the business at about £15m, with the government owning a 1.5% share. “The government has already made its money back on the investment,” she said.

The Future Fund’s loan to Killing Kittens was made in 2020. The fund has invested in an eclectic range of businesses, including a cannabis oil company, a London-based craft beer brewer, the football club Bolton Wanderers, the Black Sheep Coffee chain and the company that co-invented the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccination.

A spokeswoman for the British Business Bank confirmed the investment in Killing Kittens. “The Future Fund used a set of standard terms with published eligibility criteria,” she said. “The process provided a clear, efficient way to make funding available as widely and as swiftly as possible without the need for lengthy negotiations. Applications that met all the eligibility criteria received investment.”

Killing Kittens says it has 180,000 members and an annual turnover of £1.4m, of which about 80% comes from the UK.

So far, more than 335 of the businesses the government has invested in have had their loans converted into equity stakes. However, more than three dozen companies to have benefited from funding were found by the Times in April to be in the process of liquidation, at a potential cost of £40m of taxpayer money.

The Future Fund has also taken a stake in Hybrid Air Vehicles, whose early backers include the Iron Maiden singer and pilot Bruce Dickinson, which is developing a new airship designed to cut flight emissions by up to 90%.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
×