Al Gore joins Ocado backers

Ocado, the online supermarket, has received £7m of funding from an investment firm co-founded by former US VP Al Gore.

Al Gore
Al Gore

Ocado has completed a round of funding totalling £50m, with backers including Gore’s Generation Investment Management and Fidelity International, which has previously invested in Google.

Excluding debt, the funding values Ocado at approximately £500m.

Founded in 2002, Ocado now has backers including the John Lewis Partnership, Tetra Pak’s Jorn Rausing and Proctor & Gamble, which invested £5m in the company a year ago.

According to reports, the company, which has outgoing ITV executive chairman Michael Grade as a non-executive chairman, is preparing to float on the stock market.

Ocado competitor Morrisons today said profits were up 45% for the first half of the year to £449m. Morrisons is yet to sell online.

This story first appeared on newmediaage.co.uk

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