BagThat Trading Limited, a new online shopping experience has secured 2 million pounds of new investment in a funding round led by specialist investment manager Oxford Capital. The investment will fund the further development and marketing of BagThat's innovative online shop which lets buyers decide how much they are willing to pay for top quality branded goods.

Oxford Capital has led the fund raising to a first close. Additional investment from institutional backers is planned.

David Mott, Investment Director, Oxford Capital said:

"BagThat's offering to consumers stands out of the crowd. It has an innovative approach to online shopping, combining the best of auction buying and group purchasing power. Top brands, such as Samsung and Halfords have already signed up and the site offers remarkable discount deals on gadgets, fashion labels, wine and leisure activities. Leading model and TV personality Jodie Kidd has signed up as brand ambassador which adds celebrity stardust to the launch.

"BagThat has a strong management team, with impeccable online and retail credentials, adding proven expertise to a solid online retailing proposition."

Andy Sutton, Founder & Chief Executive, BagThat Trading Ltd, said:

"Oxford Capital has done a terrific job in leading our funding round, in particular helping us to build connections with new investors. They are great advocates for UK growth businesses and their management input and expertise in helping business to grow has been hugely valuable as we have worked together to develop and launch BagThat."

How BagThat works: BagThat is a virtual store that uses the power of the social network to benefit consumers and suppliers alike - allowing customers to bid for a wide range of products and services. Instead of naming a firm price, people can choose what they are willing to pay. The more people that get involved and bid on an item via social networking, the lower the price a product can sell for and the better the discount.

The BagThat vision, in a cross between an 'auction' and a 'group buying' model, is to bring a mainstream retail channel to market that offers both consumers and suppliers the opportunity to take full advantage of social network buying power. The model - in effect a simple volume/discount principle - is intuitive and highly effective.