Barclays has provided British high-performance clothing brand ThruDark with a £4 million commercial loan to support its continued growth and accelerate its retail expansion strategy.
The funds, provided by Barclays UK Corporate Bank, were used to strengthen ThruDark’s working capital following the crucial Golden Quarter trading period, which included Black Friday, Christmas and January sales. It has also enabled the brand’s high-profile festive retail activation at Battersea Power Station, bringing its performance-focused clothing to one of London’s most iconic retail locations.
Founded in 2016 by former special forces soldiers Louis Tinsley and Anthony “Staz” Stazicker, ThruDark has built a reputation for developing rugged, high-performance clothing that has been tested in demanding real-world environments. The brand has grown rapidly in recent years and combines technical innovation with a strong community and an identity characterized by endurance.
This growth was recognized at the Barclays Entrepreneur Awards, where ThruDark was named the Scale Up Company Award winner for 2025. The company was also once again listed in the Sunday Times’ ranking of the UK’s fastest-growing private companies, underlining its dynamism in a competitive retail landscape.
Owen Dady, relationship director at Barclays UK Corporate Bank, said the deal reflected the bank’s wider commitment to supporting ambitious UK businesses. He pointed to Barclays’ £22bn Business Prosperity Fund announced last year, which aims to help companies invest for growth, scale operations and cope with periods of peak demand.
ThruDark CEO Chris Reynolds said the funding gave the company crucial flexibility to invest with confidence. He noted that the facility helped the company purchase inventory at scale, meet strong seasonal demand and advance its physical retail ambitions, adding that winning the Scale Up Company Award was a major milestone for the team.
Beyond retail, ThruDark continues to grow its brand through sports, adventure and excellence. Partnerships range from teamwear sponsorship with Triumph Racing to title sponsorship of Devizes and the Westminster International Canoe Race, often referred to as the “Everest of canoeists”. The equipment has also been tested on world-first expeditions, including a record-breaking speed climb in which one of the company’s co-founders traveled from London to the summit of Mount Everest and back in less than seven days.
Together, the funding and recent awards represent a further step in ThruDark’s transition from niche performance label to a major British retail brand with international ambitions.
