Manchester-based mobile barbering service Appacut has raised £600,000 in seed funding to allow it to expand around the country.
The firm raised the investment from a series of high-profile North West-based businesspeople, including musicMagpie co-founder and CEO Steve Oliver, who joins the business as its non-executive chair.
The service was first launched in 2024 to provide ‘great haircuts anywhere, but mainly at home’ and allows customers to choose a barber of their choice at a time, date and location that suits them.
It has now become the UK’s biggest barber chain without owning a single shop, hence the ‘Uber for barbers’ tagline – with over three hundred barbers now live on the site.
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Appacut, which appeared on BusinessCloud’s GM Rising Stars of Business 2025 – Ones to Watch list, initially operated mainly across Manchester, but barbers from places including Bognor Regis and Edinburgh are now registered.
Its clients already include Manchester United legend Ruud Van Nistelrooy and former Everton defender Johnny Heitinga.
The latest fundraising round will see the company focus on servicing the high-density populations of residential towers in the UK’s major cities, operated by national operators such as Renaker, Ila and Moda.
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This follows a successful trial period conducted in Manchester, where the service announced its first barber to pass 1,000 haircuts being conducted in people’s residences.
“I am delighted to be involved with this new disruptive service with huge ambitions to transform the barbering industry away from the high street and bring a Deliveroo type convenience to customers who want a haircut when, where and by whom they like,” said Oliver.
“In this day and age of consumers demanding a trusted, fast and convenient way to buy their day-to-day purchases, whether that be groceries, fast-food or other products, it is no surprise to me that a new service that avoids an arduous, time-wasting and sometimes frustrating regular trip to the barbers is proving to be so popular.”
Appacut CEO Michael Lawes added: “Having developed a world-class platform product to operate the service on for both prospective barbers and consumers, we are truly excited to have successfully raised such substantial investment funds from such a high-profile group of investors.
“This will allow us to now rapidly expand the scope and geography of services offered, having spent the last year successfully proving the concept of the service.
“The rapid adoption and ready acceptance of customers to demand the service is of no surprise to us as our initial research indicated that over 70% of males under 45 years old were likely to use the service.
“These customers get a haircut every three to four weeks and are currently paying about £25 per cut so there is clearly a huge market for us to service both nationally and ultimately globally.”
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