LONDON Livebookings, Europe’s largest online marketing and reservations service for restaurants, secured $16 million in financing this week from venture capital firm Wellington Partners.
The company, much like OpenTable in the United States, said it would use the funds to further expand its services and reach a global market.
Livebookings provides restaurateurs with access to customers that it says would otherwise be difficult to reach, through its global partners such as Bookatable.com, lastminute.com and Yell.com. The company also works with restaurants operated by Gordon Ramsay Holdings and Caprice Holdings Restaurants, as well as restaurants including Tantris, East, Grill, Px Lounge, Burton’s Grill, Mathias Dahlgren Matbaren, Mavrommatis and Pedro Larumbe to enable them to secure table reservations online.
The $16 million in funding follows the raising of $12 million during the past two years from Balderton Capital and other investors. In 2008, Livebookings delivered more than 2.4 million diners to restaurants worldwide, and so far in 2009, has already exceeded that number, the company said.
“Livebookings has grown aggressively since day one and we’re now at a point where we see a fantastic opportunity for further managed but rapid growth supported with further investment,” Niklas Eklund, Livebookings’ chief executive, said in a statement. “Despite the recession, recent figures show the number of new restaurants now using online reservations to fill their tables has risen by 91 percent this summer compared to last. However, we estimate only 7 percent of restaurants currently use online reservations, showing us the enormous growth potential in our chosen market.”
EOC Partners LLP acted as the investment banking advisor in the transaction.
Contact Sarah Lockyer at [email protected]
