TravelPerk Adds Another $110M in Funding, Tops $1B Valuation
Corporate travel management platform TravelPerk has raised $115 million in funding on top of the $160 million announced last April, and plans to use it to “double down” efforts in sustainability solutions and for expansion in the United States and Europe.
The funding round, now totaling $275 million, includes new investment from venture capital firm General Catalyst and increased investment from investment company Kinnevik. Former Booking.com chairwoman and CEO Gillian Tans also invested in the current round and will join TravelPerk’s board of directors, along with General Catalyst’s Joel Cutler. The round brings TravelPerk’s total investment to $409 million and its total valuation to $1.3 billion, beyond the $1 billion “unicorn” line.
“We really plan to use this new funding to go further into the areas we started last year, specifically around sustainability and the future of work and hybrid workplaces, and obviously continuing to invest in go-to-market to extend the scope of TravelPerk,” TravelPerk chief commercial officer JC Taunay-Bucalo said.
Last year was a big one for TravelPerk in terms of acquisitions, kicking off the year with the acquisition of NexTravel to boost its U.S. presence and following up in July with the acquisition of Click Travel, adding a significant team and client portfolio in the U.K. In all, it increased its number of customers threefold last year, Taunay-Bucalo said. That includes organic growth as well, as TravelPerk made the decision not to lay off any of its staff during the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.
“We believed that this period was the best time to acquire customers, because most of our competitors were hibernating, and customers that used to have no solution were looking for solutions,” according to Taunay-Bucalo. “All the investment we have made in this very difficult 2020-2021 [period] has now paid off and put us in a very strong position.”
In the field of sustainability, TravelPerk last year also acquired U.K.-based consulting firm Susterra, which Taunay-Bucalo said was “step one” in ensuring it could supply reliable information and data related to sustainability. TravelPerk plans to continue helping companies plan and execute carbon offsetting strategies, including vetting offsetting projects to help select those with the biggest impact, and incorporating sustainability data into its product to help travelers use it to guide their booking decisions.
The funding additionally will help continued development of its TravelPerk Events meetings management solution launched last year.
Taunay-Bucalo said TravelPerk does not have any additional acquisitions actively in the works, but he expects more will be coming down the line. “There is a trend of consolidation in the market, and we want to be a part of it, but obviously, we will only do it with companies where we feel there is an amazing fit,” he said. The company also is looking at acquiring smaller companies—similar to its acquisitions of Susterra and Albatross—”that help our product become better and wider in terms of delivering value to our customer.”
Michael B. Baker www.businesstravelnews.com