Bangalore: Sameer Narula, the Managing Partner of Bangalore based early stage venture capital fund August Capital Partner has made an investment in London based Rent-a-Keg on a personal basis. Rent-a-Keg is a branded beverages, distribution, catering, and events company which also has a franchisee for Northern England. It is also considering franchisees in Scotland and Wales, and also in the EU markets in the future.

“I have known George Workman and his business since 2005. As an advisor to the business, I have had the opportunity to be involved in its growth. Given the importance of efficient distribution, branding, and marketing in the industry, I believe that George and his team have brought the business to a level where we are ready to profitably expand our business to the rest of Europe and eventually globally,” says Sameer Narula, Managing Partner, August Capital Partners.

Rent-a-Keg was founded in 2004 by George Workman, and focuses on providing branded alcoholic beverages to pubs, restaurants, corporate events, and weddings. It has strong relations with major breweries and vineyards, and distributes prosecco under the brand ‘Frizzeti’.

The company estimates that the average number of events per venue is seeing a robust increase when compared to the 2008-2010 period, with a fall in the cancellations. It however predicts a greater number of events in the city locations when compared to the rural locations, with the clients being price sensitive. Its integrated model and lead management system helps it on offering competitive prices and reducing the sales cycles.

The company is estimating an increase in interest from territories other than Northern England and is cautiously optimistic about offering more franchises in the coming months. It is also looking forwards to interesting and unique beverages to be distributed in its core markets and through the franchisees. Rent-a-Keg also has a referral program for event planners and corporate to bring in new business, and would be launching a loyalty program shortly.

On being asked about the plans for future investments, Narula says, “My focus right now is to get to first close on August Capital Partners Fund-1. My long association with Rent-a-Keg and with George makes my investment a unique situation. In general, once the fund is active, ACP's team shall be solely focused on sourcing and executing investments for the fund and would not envisage making investments outside that set-up.”

The venture capital firm is actively looking for commitments from LPs for its fund and believes that India and the ASEAN region present some optimistic opportunities in the post-Angel pre-traditional VC space that it is ideally positioned to benefit from.

As an early-stage investor, August Capital Partner is usually the first investor in its portfolio companies with typical investments ranging from $500,000-$2 million, but can go higher or lower depending on the needs of the investment. It was recently targeting a fund of $25 million with a first close target between $10-$12 million from institutional investors and High Net Worth Investors (HNIs) from India, GCC, and U.S. It hopes to achieve its first close by March or April and a subsequent end before the end of the year. Its portfolio investments include Etable, HomeUnion, Avacorp, and Rent-a-Keg.