MOSCOW, RUSSIA, Heverest.ru, an online Russian retailer for sport amenities, leisure and travel goods, has attracted further external investment of $1.4 million. The international consortium of investors Rollingahead Ltd and eVenture Capital Partners acted as the company's investment partners. Including the initial seed financing, the overall investment generated by the company now amounts to around $2 million.

Heverest.ru is a start-up business launched by Fast Lane Ventures, a company focused on the development, launch and promotion of innovative internet businesses, on 1st June 2011. At present the online store offers users all the major international sport and leisure brands including: The North Face, Salomon, Nike, Columbia, Adidas, Reebok, Marmot, DaKine, Puma, Speedo, Deuter, Salewa, Fashy, Hi-Tec, Rider and others, with the product range being renewed on a regular basis and deliveries are transferred to all regions of Russia.

Heverest.ru differs from other e-commerce portals as it features a combination of the online retail store and an online community, which aims to join together individuals leading the same active life. Users can make use of the interactive tools for expert counseling and attend specialist offline events. Other content on the website includes newsfeeds, articles, recommendations from seasoned travelers, feedback from amateurs and professionals, interviews with stars with active lifestyle interests, outdoor experience stories.

According to Russian analytical agency Rumetrika.ru, the turnover for the Russian sport goods market in 2010 was $6 billion. Fast Lane Ventures estimates that this Russian market has the potential to grow up to $12 billion by 2015. In addition, Data Insight predicts that the global market of sport and leisure goods will swing from $175 billion in 2010 to $240 billion in 2015. Therefore, Russia's share will increase from 3.5 to 5 percent.

Vladimir Kim, CEO of Heverest.ru, commented:

"Currently the Russian internet market does not have a platform offering a different user experience covering all kinds of sports at the same time, which is something Heverest.ru can take advantage of. Our overall mission is to develop and promote active sports and a healthy lifestyle, as well as build an online community of people with the same active lifestyle."

Marina Treshchova, CEO of Fast Lane Ventures, commented:

"Fast Lane Ventures is thrilled to be behind and encourage Heverest.ru, as it has very high business growth potential. We are currently witnessing an increasing amount of effort being made by the Russian Government to popularize sport in this country, with Russia hosting a number of world-scale sporting events in the next few years."

Fast Lane Ventures is the leading developer of internet companies in the high growth Russian internet market. Unlike traditional venture funds, FLV acts as both an investor and operational partner assisting with management and promotion of its portfolio companies after their launch.