Coronavirus: Secret Escapes books 拢40m cash injection
The luxury holiday group is finalising a fundraising that will shore up its finances during the pandemic, Sky News learns.
Tuesday 28 April 2020 11:32, UK
The online travel group Secret Escapes is finalising a 拢40m cash injection that will help it to weather the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Sky News has learnt that the company, which launched nearly a decade ago, is in advanced talks with its existing shareholders about a deal that could be concluded as soon as this week.
The new equity is expected to be provided by investors including Merian Chrysalis, the technology company backer which holds stakes in Starling Bank and TransferWise, and Octopus Investments, one of the most prolific shareholders in UK growth companies.
Temasek Holdings, the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund, is also an investor.
Once finalised, the additional funding will offer reassurance to Secret Escapes' 1,000-strong international workforce about its owners' view of its long-term potential.
The new money is also designed to help the company resume its growth trajectory once restrictions on international travel are lifted, according to one insider.
A stock market listing for Secret Escapes is likely to remain a long-term ambition, but any chance of doing so in the next couple of years looks to have dissipated, with analysts forecasting that an industry recovery will be slow and painstaking.
The global travel industry has been among the hardest-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, with airlines, tour operators, cruise companies and businesses in their supply chains all trying to cope with a sudden collapse in revenue.
Holiday companies are now in the eye of a storm over customer refunds, with some operators now providing only vouchers to affected consumers rather than the cash refunds within 14 days that they are obliged to.
Secret Escapes positions itself as a premium travel club offering its tens of millions of members access to exclusive discounted travel offers and services.
Late last year, it appointed Kate Swann, the former WH Smith and SSP Group chief executive, as its new chairman.
The appointment was a coup for the company, which before the crisis was expanding at a rapid rate as it benefited from the troubles of established high street competitors such as Thomas Cook.
Secret Escapes has snapped up part of the collapsed holiday group Laterooms and the travel rewards site Pigsback.com.
The company trades under brands including Travel Bird across Europe, with national brands including Travelist in Poland and Slevomat in the Czech Republic.
In the latest financial year for which results have been published, it reported a sharp rise in underlying revenue to £101.3m and turned a modest annual profit.
The company now boasts a membership base in excess of 65 million people, according to figures it released last year.
Secret Escapes declined to comment on the impending equity injection from shareholders.