British taxpayers are now official shareholders in a firm that organises sex parties. Yes, you heard it, right. This is not a hoax.
Sex party organiser, Killing Kittens, had availed a government loan to help it tide through the pandemic. The loan has now been converted into an equity stake, according to the British Business Bank.
The company organizes women-led adult parties in cities including London and New York. It secured the loan in 2020 from the UK government’s Future Fund, which was initiated to help firms tide over the Covid-19 pandemic.
Founded by Emma Sayle in 2005, Killing Kittens organises members-only parties in exclusive venues where “established gender stereotypes” are challenged, according to its website. It recorded a 330% increase in traffic to its website during coronavirus lockdowns, and now calls itself “the fastest-growing adult social network.”
During the pandemic the company had to shift all its events and workshops online. This hastened its existing plans to create a niche in the sex tech industry. According to its website, Killing Kittens has a mobile app that lets users meet each other “for casual dating, friendship, kink partners or a long-term relationship”.
According to CNN, the government’s Future Fund previously awarded the company a loan of $221,780. The program, which is funded from tax revenue, typically provides debt financing of between $153,000 and $6.1 million to companies, subject to them at least matching the funding from private investors.
When questioned over Killing Kittens’ investment, a British Business Bank spokesperson said that “applications that met all the eligibility criteria received investment.” “The Future Fund used a set of standard terms with published eligibility criteria,” the representative added in a statement. “The process provided a clear, efficient way to make funding available as widely and as swiftly as possible without the need for lengthy negotiations.”
