TravelLocal, a leading brand and online platform for tailor-made holidays, raises £8.3 million to accelerate international growth

• TravelLocal lands Series B funding from Puma Private Equity, Active Partners and Gresham House Ventures – the investment will help accelerate international expansion
• The business is revolutionising tailor-made holidays, by connecting clients directly with local experts in the destination
• Customers in 100 countries globally, exceptional Net Promoter Score of over 80
• Annual bookings already over $50m with rapid growth in demand for its innovative travel offering – truly bespoke, authentic, sustainable holidays
• New funding follows successful merger of TravelLocal (UK) and Trip.me (Germany) in 2021

Bristol, UK and Berlin, Germany – TravelLocal.com, the innovative, global tailor-made holidays company, has today announced the completion of its USD 10.3m (£8.3m; EUR 9.7m) Series B funding round. The growth investors are existing Series A investors Active Partners and Gresham House Ventures, with Puma Private Equity joining as a new investor and leading this round. The company has a global brand and receives bookings from clients worldwide. It is growing rapidly, as travellers demand genuinely authentic, more sustainable holidays and prioritise spending on experiences. TravelLocal achieves an exceptional Net Promoter Score (NPS) of over 80, amongst the highest in the travel sector.

The new funding will help accelerate the company’s international growth, including investment in its managed marketplace platform and further brand marketing (including broadcasting its latest TV advert “Global Travel, Local Experts”). With this funding round, the business enters its next exciting chapter, with annual bookings already over USD 50m and growing well over 100% year on year.

TravelLocal’s innovative model is revolutionising tailor-made holidays by connecting its customers directly with handpicked, trusted local travel experts based in their destination – who know their country better than anyone. This combines the benefits of human advice from vetted local experts, the convenience of being able to book online, and full consumer financial protection (through ABTA and ATOL in the UK). TravelLocal has helped more than 70,000 customers create their perfect trip since launching in 2016.

The TravelLocal platform enables bookings with over 500 individual local travel experts around the world, who create truly personalised itineraries directly with and for the client. They work in 271 curated partner companies and are the ‘hidden stars’ of the legacy travel industry, to whom clients now have direct access by booking with TravelLocal. Many travellers care deeply about making their holidays more responsible and sustainable, and TravelLocal’s approach helps to fulfil this, by enabling direct access. By dealing directly with experts in locally incorporated companies, who know and care passionately about their communities and ecosystems, more client spend remains in the local economy of the destination.

This Series B funding round follows the highly successful merger in July 2021 of TravelLocal (UK) and Trip.me (Germany), both now fully integrated under the TravelLocal brand. TravelLocal has offices in Bristol and Berlin with colleagues also working remotely across the world.

The investors in this round are Active Partners (other investments include: Soho House, Leon, Secret Cinema, Rapha), Gresham House Ventures (Buster & Punch, Bleach and Bella & Duke) and, leading the round, Puma Private Equity (Pockit, Influencer and Ron Dorff). Active Partners and Gresham House Ventures are making their third investments in the company following the Series A and the merger in 2021. All three funds now have a broadly similar overall amount invested in the business. Channel 4 Ventures (WhatThreeWords, Pinterest) also recently increased its media-for-equity investment. Alistair Daly, former CMO of listed holidays disruptor brand On the Beach Plc, is a Board Advisor and investor in the business.

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Comments

Tom Stapleton, CEO, says:

“TravelLocal has performed very strongly again coming out of the pandemic as people travel extensively – and increasingly with a strong desire to do so in a more sustainable, meaningful way, that supports local people and economies. Our unique business model enables everyone to do just that. This funding round reflects the excellent growth opportunity we now have, and the first class team we have built to tackle it.”

Mark Hudson, Executive Chairman commented:

“We are very happy with the ongoing support of our growth investors Active Partners and GHV, who were hugely supportive through the pandemic, and delighted to welcome Puma Private Equity into this exciting next stage of our journey. This funding round is a validation of the amazing company we are building, and the passion and hard work our team puts in to delight our customers every day.”

Mark Lyons Investment Director, Puma Private Equity:

“Although incomes are being squeezed in the current environment, travel continues to be a priority expenditure for many and baby boomers are spending $120 billion annually on leisure travel. We believe there is huge scope for TravelLocal to grow and continue transforming the tailor-made holiday industry.

“We are really encouraged by the strength of the management team and the resilience of the business post its merger in 2021 which has significantly increased its global reach. This investment will enable the team to do more to engage with their target audience, in particular their expanding base of US clients.”

Nick Evans, Managing Partner at Active Partners:

“TravelLocal is disrupting the travel market with its bespoke, authentic experiences, using travel as a force for good in local regions. After weathering the storm of the pandemic and completing a successful merger, the brand’s remarkable growth is a testament to its unique offering and the unwavering resilience of the fantastic team. As the travel market continues to experience great demand, we are excited to support Tom, Mark, Matthias and Huw as they scale the business into more markets around the world.”

Tom Makey, Investment Director at Gresham House Ventures:

“This marks another important milestone for the talented TravelLocal team. The business performed strongly through the pandemic thanks to its innovative, agile approach, and it has continued this success ever since, adapting to the evolving dynamics of the travel sector and the demand from customers for a more authentic and responsible experience. We look forward to supporting the business in its next phase of growth.”

ENDS
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Notes to Editors

What is TravelLocal?

TravelLocal is a world-to-world B2C platform, having taken bookings from customers in more than 100 countries globally and offering holidays to 93 destination countries, from Argentina to Zanzibar. It has a strong presence both in English-language markets (including the US, UK, Canada, Australia) and in German-language markets (DACH).

Target market

The business focuses on tailor-made private itineraries for mid-to-high end clients, primarily in the long-haul and mid-haul segments. Bookings typically range from USD 2-50k, up to well over USD 100k for higher end, family and private group trips. The global package holidays market, of which tailor-made travel is a sub-sector, has seen strong global growth over recent decades of over 10% annually, which is forecast to continue, as consumers move away from more “mass produced” travel brands.

Why do customers use it?

TravelLocal brings to clients a more sustainable way to create and enjoy bespoke holidays, by dealing directly with experts in locally incorporated companies, who know and care passionately about their communities and ecosystems – they live there. As a result more client spend remains in the local economy of the destination.

What is the company’s position on sustainable/ethical travel?

The company is a founder signatory of the Glasgow Declaration on climate change in the travel industry and donates 1% of its net revenue to conservation and charitable projects in its destinations worldwide. Many travellers care deeply about making their holidays more responsible and sustainable, and TravelLocal helps fulfill this.

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Investors

About Active Partners

Active Partners is a consumer-focused investment firm that backs and builds the iconic brands of tomorrow, partnering with visionary founders through all stages of growth. Founded in 2004, Active Partners has invested in world-class businesses such as Honest Burgers, LEON, Secret Cinema, Soho House, Finisterre, The Fold, Northern Monk, and Rapha. For more information, visit www.active.partners.

About Gresham House Ventures and Gresham House

Gresham House Ventures is a growth equity investor specialised in scaling businesses with business models driven by technology, customer insight or service excellence. Gresham House Ventures aims to work with ambitious management teams who want the support of a flexible long-term investor who brings capital, insight and expertise. The team has been working together for over 10 years and has made over 100 investments into growth businesses. Gresham House Asset Management is the FCA authorised operating business of Gresham House plc, a London Stock Exchange-quoted specialist alternative asset manager. Gresham House is committed to operating responsibly and sustainably, taking the long view in delivering sustainable investment solutions.
greshamhouseventures.com

Puma Private Equity is a leading provider of growth capital to SMEs across all sectors and regions of the UK, delivering investments between £2 million to £10 million.  Puma Private Equity takes a highly active approach to value creation, partnering with management teams to help drive up equity value through expansion and professionalisation. Puma Private Equity is the private equity division of Puma Capital Group.

Advisors to the fundraising

The corporate finance advisor to the company was Eddie Harding at ICON Corporate Finance and the legal advisor was John Finnemore at CMS.