Top City bankers get behind £9 million fundraise for brainy drinks maker

A start-up company selling drinks claimed to boost brainpower has raised £9 million from some of the City’s top investment bankers.

Anthony Gutman of Goldman Sachs and Rothschild’s Akeel Sach are among bankers who have invested in serial entrepreneur David Spencer-Percival's No1 Rosemary Water brand. Other backers include ex-Capita boss Paul Pindar.

Spencer-Percival, who made millions from his recruitment businesses Huntress and Spencer Ogden, claims extract of rosemary improves brain function.

He said a forthcoming peer-reviewed study from scientists at Northumbria University to be published shortly confirms his claims.

The brand is already shifting 70,000 bottles a month through Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and other stores but its new funding will fund the launch of a range of new drinks developed with Kew Gardens featuring other healthgiving herbs including basil and fennel.

Spencer-Percival told the Standard in November 2017 he got the idea for his posh drinks business after reading an article about Acciaroli, a village in south-west Italy, famed for its rosemary-chewing centenarians.