Silicon Valley Bank UK provides icelolly.com with £2m in venture debt financing

London, 6 January 2020 – Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the bank for innovative businesses, enterprises and their investors, has today announced it has provided icelolly.com, the UK’s leading holiday comparison & deals platform and award-winning travel brand, with £2m in finance to support its future growth plans.

The facility will be used to fuel further growth, including strategic investments in icelolly’s sales and marketing activities. The financing will enable icelolly to significantly boost its brand awareness with consumers through various channels online and offline. icelolly also expects to invest in its team with further hires following Simon Lloyd’s recent appointment as Chief Marketing Officer, having held a number of executive roles with leading British brands including AXA, Superdry, BBC and Virgin Atlantic, and the appointment of Elliot Muscant, the co-founder and Managing Partner of marketing agency Open Partners and former CEO of Dentsu Aegis and MD of MediaVest Manchester, as Non-Executive Advisor.

The partnership with icelolly further supports SVB UK’s commitment and growing presence in the North of England by being a valued financial partner to the Northern innovation economy, which is made up of a diverse range of innovative technology and life science businesses throughout the region.

Commenting on the financing, icelolly.com CEO Richard Singer, said: “Silicon Valley Bank has supported our growth plans and vision and we are pleased to announce this facility today to help make icelolly.com the best loved brand for UK holidaymakers.”

Richard Faulkner, Managing Director at Silicon Valley Bank’s UK Branch, said: “We’ve enjoyed working with icelolly.com and it has been great to be able to support them on this impressive journey of rapid growth and brand recognition. We look forward to a continued partnership with Richard and the rest of the icelolly team.”

The news follows icelolly.com launching a new multichannel marketing initiative on 26 December 2019. icelolly’s biggest ever campaign sees the company return to its core values by highlighting how easy it is for customers of all demographics to compare a wide range of holiday experiences and find a great value deal to suit their tastes, availability and budget. All-new TV ads combine visually engaging footage alongside an animation of the icelolly.com App to illustrate how simple it is to search and compare holidays, hotels, city breaks and cruises, with the campaign extended across digital and social channels as well as significant OOH activity.

• ENDS –

About SVB Financial Group

“For more than 35 years, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has helped innovative businesses and their investors move bold ideas forward, fast. SVB provides a range of financial services and targeted expertise to companies of all sizes in innovation centres, including the UK. With commercial and international banking services, SVB helps address the unique needs of innovators. Learn more at svb.com/uk.

Silicon Valley Bank is registered in England and Wales at Alphabeta, 14-18 Finsbury Square, London EC2A 1BR, UK under No. FC029579. Silicon Valley Bank is authorised and regulated by the California Department of Business Oversight and the United States Federal Reserve Bank; authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority with number 577295; and subject to regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and limited regulation by the Prudential Regulation Authority. Details about the extent of our regulation by the Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request. Silicon Valley Bank is a member of the FDIC and the Federal Reserve System. Silicon Valley Bank is the California bank subsidiary of SVB Financial Group (Nasdaq: SIVB).

© 2019 SVB Financial Group. All rights reserved. SVB, SVB FINANCIAL GROUP, SILICON VALLEY BANK, MAKE NEXT HAPPEN NOW and the chevron device are trademarks of SVB Financial Group, used under license.

Contact:
Matthew Gazeley

PR Manager

Silicon Valley Bank – UK Branch
+44 783344670
[email protected]

About icelolly.com

icelolly.com was named the UK’s largest website comparing holiday packages in 2020 according to independent research by Hitwise. With more than 20 million visitors each year and one of the largest Social followings in travel, icelolly.com allows customers to compare and save on millions of package holidays, cruises, UK breaks and more from leading travel companies. The company was named Best Travel Comparison Website at the British Travel Awards 2019; Travel Brand of the Year and Best Metasearch at the Travolution Awards 2019; and Best Travel Comparison Website at the TravelMole Awards 2019. Prior accolades include Travel Brand of the Year (<£25m) at the Travel Marketing Awards 2019; Best Website at the Northern Digital Awards 2019; Rising Brand of the Year and Best Use of Social Media at the Travolution Awards 2018; Travel & Tourism eCommerce Website of the Year 2018 at the Northern eCommerce Awards; and Innovation in Integration: Combining Tech Powers at the 2018 dotmailer Email Marketing Awards: the dotties.

Contact:

Ian Benjafield

Head of PR

icelolly.com

+44 7951452007

[email protected]