Home / Deals / Advised Holidu, a leading technology company in the vacation rental industry, on its Series C growth investment by Prime Ventures, coparion and other investors

Advised Holidu, a leading technology company in the vacation rental industry, on its Series C growth investment by Prime Ventures, coparion and other investors
Sep 2019
growth investment by
  • Sector: Media & Internet
  • Deal Type: Private Capital; Founder-led Businesses
  • Engagement type: Fundraise
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Arma Partners is pleased to announce that it has acted as exclusive financial advisor to Holidu on its $45 million Series C growth capital raise led by Prime Ventures. Other investors include coparion and MairDuMont Ventures as well as the existing investors EQT Ventures, Venture Stars and Senovo.

Munich-based Holidu is a leading technology company in the vacation rental industry. Travellers can search over fifteen million accommodation offers across 600 channels on their AI-enabled search engine. The new funding will further drive product development and support the continued roll-out of a unique software solution for vacation rental owners to manage homes and distribute inventory across all major channels operating under the Bookiply brand.

The transaction underlines Arma Partners’ increased focus on providing private capital funding solutions to both entrepreneurial and corporate clients through its growing Private & Growth Capital practice, utilising its strong connectivity across the full breadth of relevant investor categories globally. The transaction also highlights the firm’s excellent footprint in the DACH region.

  • Munich-based vacation rental platform launched in 2014
  • Holidu has built a two-fronted approach to the market: its proposition addresses the needs of both vacation homeowners and travellers
  • For travellers, Holidu offers an AI-powered search engine that enables consumers to use one platform to compare 15 million properties across 600 channels (e.g. Airbnb, Booking.com, etc.). Holidu generates 10m+ monthly visits across 21 countries
  • For homeowners, Bookiply provides a solution enabling homeowners to distribute their inventory across all major channels and control the booking calendar via a single platform, massively lowering booking cancellation rates. Bookiply manages more than 5,000 properties across key vacation hotspots in Europe
  • Holidu employs more than 150 people and is led by its founders Johannes Siebers (CEO) and Michael Siebers (CTO)
  • Holidu’s funding round was led by Prime Ventures with participation from Coparion and MairDuMont Ventures who came onboard as new shareholders. Existing investors – notably EQT Ventures, Venture Stars, Senovo and business angel Chris Hitchen – also invested
  • Prime Ventures
    • Netherlands-based venture capital and growth equity investment firm focused on supporting European companies in technology and internet; Prime manages approximately €700m in committed capital
    • Previous investments include Takeaway.com, Meero and Aimotive
  • Latest investment will enable Holidu to drive further product development, both of Holidu platform and Bookiply software tools
  • In addition, the company expects to use funds to extend its inventory by expanding the number of connected Holidu partners and rapidly ramping-up the number of vacation rental homeowners working with Bookiply
  • To achieve this, the company plans to open regional offices selectively
  • Arma was engaged by the Board of Directors of Holidu to identify the most motivated and qualified financial investors for the company
  • Arma worked extensively with Holidu’s management team to articulate the company’s growth strategy and architect its financial plan
  • Arma also developed an in-depth analysis of Holidu’s unit economics, which in turn prompted refinement of its pricing strategy
  • The transaction underscores Arma’s capability providing private capital funding solutions to entrepreneurial and corporate clients through its expanding Private & Growth Capital practice, leveraging strong connectivity across a spectrum of investor categories globally
  • The transaction also highlights Arma’s deep sector expertise in online travel and strong track record in the DACH region
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