Secret Escapes operates as an online travel and experiences company offering discounted travel and experiences. The company completed an equity raise and refinancing to refinish debt and support the next phase of growth. Chrysalis Investments invested £6.5m as part of a wider £31.7m fundraising exercise. Management said the equity raise and refinancing were fully supported by existing shareholders and lenders, and that the business has refinanced existing debt facilities. Financially, Secret Escapes reported EBITDA of £5.4m for the 12 months to December 31, 2021 and trading reached almost 80% of 2019 levels between June and October 2021. The business recorded a loss of more than £30m in its 2020 financial year amid the Covid-19 crisis. Secret Escapes operates a portfolio of travel brands, including Slevomat, Zl’avomat.sk, Travelist, TravelBird, and Empathy Marketing’s Pigsback, selling discounted travel offers to users who sign up for free memberships. Its core product is time-limited flash-deal discounted travel offers, and in 2019 the group recorded a take rate of about 18 percent. In 2019 the group generated approximately $160 million in revenue on gross bookings of about $882 million and reported adjusted EBITDA of roughly $14 million. The pandemic severely impacted the business in 2020, producing adjusted revenue of approximately $77 million and a net loss of about $65 million. An approximately $74 million Series E equity fundraising in May 2020 from all existing shareholders enabled the company to keep customer-support centers fully operational and to implement changes such as a rebooking functionality. By 2021 the company reported a partial rebound—trading reached nearly 80 percent of 2019 levels, it generated overall positive cash flow for 2021, and as of December 31, 2021 it held $102 million in cash, liabilities of $97 million, and $85 million in debt facilities. Secret Escapes is a London, UK-based members-only online luxury travel marketplace founded in 2009 and launched in 2011, led by CEO Alex Saint. The platform offers discounts and deals on hand-picked luxury hotels and holidays. The company reports 50 million members and approximately 850 employees across eight offices, with more than 250 employees in London. Secret Escapes says it is profitable. It raised £52m in funding and has raised £104m to date. The company intends to use the capital to integrate the Slevomat Group, which it acquired late last year, and to pursue projects including in-house hotel and dynamic flight packaging across established geographies. Secret Escapes operates a membership-based platform that offers deals on luxury travel packages and hotels. The London-based company currently operates in Europe, the US, and Asia. CEO Alex Saint said the new funding will help the company "achieve its vision to inspire the world to escape and to become the number one travel deals website in the world." The business has made three acquisitions to date: Slevomat, MyCityVenue, and JustBook. It plans to use the new capital to pursue further growth through additional travel-tech acquisitions. The company has now raised more than £100 million in total. Secret Escapes is a UK-based luxury online travel company that operates a members-only travel club. The service offers discounted rates on hand‑picked hotels and holidays in the UK. The company is led by CEO Alex Saint. In July 2015 Secret Escapes raised $60m in a Series C round. The financing was led by Google Ventures and Octopus Investments, with participation from Index Ventures and Atlas Venture. The company said it intends to use the funds to expand in Asia.

Total raised

$332M

Funding rounds

8

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Jul 2023