Masaj, the London massage chain, has raised £1.5 million to open three further studios in the capital over the next 18 months, with Figr Ventures leading the round with a £500,000 investment. Masaj was started in 2016 by Scarlet Amies, then working as a self-employed therapist. Amies said the industry suffered from inconsistent service, with no single brand providing easy-access, quality treatment at scale, something Masaj intended to address. “Alice and I are incredibly ambitious and we feel that all major high streets can have a massage therapist on them,” Amies said. “[There] you will possibly have businesses who are not treating their workforce well, being underpaid, overworked, and there are still connotations with the sex industry,” Vaughan said.