Gresham House Ventures has completed a £3.1m investment into Mable Therapy (Mable), the UK’s leading digital health platform for children’s speech and language therapy and counselling services.
The business addresses a significant and growing area of need – 1.4m children in the UK have long-term speech, language or communication needs and one in five children aged 5-16 have a diagnosed mental health problem.
Founded by Martha Currie and Elliot Agró in 2015, Mable provides easy access to a nationwide network of therapists who deliver live, 1-2-1 sessions through a bespoke online platform that facilitates improved therapeutic outcomes in a child-friendly environment.
Mable offers an affordable direct-to-consumer service, as well as solutions for the education and healthcare sectors, where technology adoption is now seen as vital to address the growing unmet demand.
In the last year alone, Mable has delivered over 22,000 hours of therapy to over 3,000 children.
Gresham House Ventures is a growth equity investor specialising in software and digitally driven businesses in the technology, healthcare, consumer and services sectors.
It has supported the appointment of Oli White as Mable’s CEO, bringing significant commercial expertise in the health and education technology sectors, most recently as chief commercial officer at Doc Abode.
Education business leader, Andrea Carr, will also join Mable as independent chair.
The investment, led by Benjamin Faulkner and Tom Makey, follows several recent investments in the healthcare and education sectors.
In April 2023, Gresham House Ventures invested £4m into neuro-inclusion solutions provider Cognassist, whose software platform supports individuals with hidden learning needs across education and the workplace.
This followed a £4.5m investment in September 2022 in Orri, a specialist clinic for the treatment of eating disorders. The investment in Mable represents the fourth new investment by Gresham House Ventures in 2023.
Mable Therapy was advised on the transaction by Zuleika Salter and James Balicki at finnCap Group.
Benjamin Faulkner, associate director at Gresham House Ventures, said: “Mable’s technology transforms the lives of children in their crucial early stages of development. There is significant growth potential for Mable within the wider education and health sectors where its technology offering can drive meaningful efficiencies for public service providers.
“Martha and Elliot have built an excellent business that is backed by a wealth of clinical and technological expertise, and we are confident that Mable can continue to revolutionise the provision of this vital support across the UK.”
Martha Currie, clinical director, and Elliot Agró, head of product and technology at Mable Therapy, said: “Mable’s mission has always been to design therapy that puts children at its core, giving them the best chance to reach their full potential. Our pioneering technology has already helped thousands of families across the UK, and with this investment by Gresham House Ventures we can take this support even further.”
“The investment will facilitate the development of an intra-therapy app designed to engage and empower children beyond session hours, and school screening tools to help educators in assessing students’ mental health and speech and language needs. We also look forward to welcoming to the team Oli and Andrea, whose expertise will be instrumental as we continue to enhance and expand our service beyond the UK.”
Oli White, chief executive at Mable Therapy, said: “This investment will enable us to extend our reach in the sectors where our technology is already helping schools and other care providers to support children facing complex challenges. With Gresham House Ventures’ outstanding track record of working with businesses in this sector, Mable is well-positioned to accelerate its growth trajectory in the coming years.”