Boutique travel brand targets US growth and expanded hotel and villa offering Continue reading
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Mr & Mrs Smith turns to the crowd for £1m funding bid
Members and fans of luxury online travel brand Mr & Mrs Smith are being invited to invest in its future.
The firm has announced a major crowdfunding campaign aimed at raising £1 million to invest in expanding the size and scope of its offering.
The funding bid is taking place on the crowdfunding platform Crowdcube and comes 15 years after Mr & Mrs launched with the intention of shaking up the boutique-hotel scene.
Mr & Mrs Smith is inviting members and fans become shareholders as it embarks on overseas expansion.
The crowdfunding campaign will run until September 11 and is the first time in the firm’s history that it has made equity in the business available to the public.
Mr & Mrs Smith said the capital raised will “unlock new growth ambitions for the company as it embarks on a period of rapid scale”. The US market is being targeted as well as adding more unique inventory including new hotels and villas.
It added total transaction value has increased 22% from £51.8 million to £63.5 million year on year to June 2018, while booked revenue has risen by 35%, from £7.9 million to £10.6 million.
The crowdfunding campaign is expected to be one of the largest conducted on Crowdcube, due to Mr & Mrs Smith’s high profile and track record.
James Lohan, co-founder of Mr & Mrs Smith, said: “We founded Mr & Mrs Smith because we were fed up of chintzy, old-fashioned luxury hotels and wanted people to experience a new breed of style-savvy, personality-led boutique hotels.
“Around that passion we have built a travel business that values quality curation, a seamless delivery of bookings, and experiences that will last a lifetime.
“This crowdfunding campaign reflects our commitment to stay at the forefront of the luxury travel industry and involve the community that has supported us over the last 15 years.”
Co-founder Tamara Lohan, James’s wife, added: “We want to inspire our members to discover extraordinary places with the people they love, and we’re hugely proud of the fact we have over 1.5 million members across the world.
“That’s why we want to invite investors and our members to buy a share of the company and help us reach our full potential.”
Luke Lang, co-founder of Crowdcube, said: “Mr & Mrs Smith is an iconic British brand and an entrepreneurial success story.
“We’re delighted that the team at Mr & Mrs Smith have chosen Crowdcube to support this crowdfunding campaign, which we expect will be the start of a new and exciting chapter for the company.”
The Lohans founded in 2003 providing inspiration for discerning travellers looking for luxury boutique hotel and villa experiences.
Each Mr & Mrs Smith hotel is personally visited and anonymously reviewed by a panel to provide members with “honest and engaging” reviews of every property featured.
The firm says over 1.5 million members in more than 100 countries use Mr & Mrs Smith.
It offers customer support through Smith24 – a 24/7 booking and member support service run by 45 specialists based in London, New York, Singapore and Los Angeles – and a “leading-edge” in-house booking technology.
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