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Secret Escapes gets funding for acquisitions
London-based start-up Secret Escapes has raised £83 million in its latest funding round.
The injection will allow the members-only travel club to ‘drive growth and international expansion, including acquisitions’.
This latest equity round was led by Singapore-based Temasek, along with existing investors Idinvest Partners, and a debt facility from Silicon Valley Bank.
Secret Escapes has now raised almost £104 million in capital since its 2011 launch.
In July 2015, the company raised £37 million in a round led by Google Ventures and Octopus Ventures.
Chief executive Alex Saint said: "We’ve reached a particularly exciting point in our brand’s development where we’re operating in 21 territories, having sold over seven million room nights.
"The cash injection will enable Secret Escapes to achieve its vision to inspire the world to escape and to become the number one travel deals website in the world.
"The support and investment from Temasek, Idinvest Partners and SVB will help us accelerate our mission through worldwide acquisitions."
Secret Escapes, which recently acquired Slevomat, a travel deals and experiences company in Central and Eastern Europe, has achieved compound annual revenue growth of 185%.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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