LONDON, June 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
onefinestay, the world's first unhotel, a new
category of upscale accommodation, which lets visitors stay in a
distinctive home while the owner is out of town, has raised
$12 million in Series B financing led
by US venture capital firm Canaan Partners. Existing investors
Index Ventures and PROfounders also participated in this round.
This funding brings onefinestay's total capital raised to date to
$16 million and will be used to
support the company's launch in New York City and other
international expansion plans.
"Two years ago, we hardly dared dream that owners of high-end
homes would be so receptive to our business model," says co-founder
and CEO of onefinestay, Greg Marsh.
"But today with hundreds of members in London together making many
millions a year, many thousands of satisfied guests, and the
support of leading investors, we are hugely excited about our US
launch and international expansion. With an extraordinary range of
homes to choose from, we are able to offer the same promise to
visitors to New York as we have to
visitors to London: live like a
local."
onefinestay redefines the experience of city travel by combining
the distinctive character of a beautiful private home with a
service that offers the convenience and comforts of a high-end
hotel. While guests enjoy living like a local, host members benefit
by earning additional income from a house or apartment that would
otherwise sit vacant. Hundreds of hosts in London today enjoy the flexibility of using
their own homes when in town and, despite the fact that none is a
professional landlord, many are already earning significantly more
than $50K a year.
First launched in London, the
complete onefinestay service provided to members, from marketing
and photography to insurance, cleaning and provision of linens, has
proved extremely popular. In May 2010
onefinestay launched in London
with just six members' homes. Two years on, the company manages
over 500 upscale homes, and exclusively manages a property
portfolio worth over $1bn. The
company's revenues increased tenfold in 2011, and this growth is
today supported by a dedicated team of over 100.
The company's success has helped attract top tier international
investors, including leading global venture capital firm Canaan
Partners, which led the Series B funding round. Warren Lee from Canaan Partners joins the board,
and said: "We are thrilled to be leading this round. The
onefinestay team are talented, driven and insanely ambitious. We
share their belief that there will be an unhotel in every
major world city, and look forward to supporting their growth."
onefinestay's Series A funding was led by leading venture
capital firm Index Ventures with participation from PROfounders
Capital, and included some of the foremost players in the travel
and hospitality industry, such as Brent
Hoberman, co-founder of Lastminute.com; Andy Phillips, co-founder of Active Hotels; and
David Magliano, former Director of
Marketing for London's successful
2012 Olympic bid.
Greg Marsh said, "We are pleased
to welcome Canaan Partners as investors to the company.
Canaan has outstanding bi-coastal
presence in the US, and we particularly value their New York profile. We look forward to working
with them to execute the next phase of our growth - our launch in
New York."
onefinestay's launch in New
York is the first stage in a wider strategy of international
expansion, with ambitions set on having an unhotel in every
major world city.
About onefinestay
onefinestay (http://www.onefinestay.com) redefines the
experience of visiting London:
live like a local by staying in a distinctive home while the owner
is out of town, with a service which offers all the convenience and
comfort of a hotel. Guests enjoy luxury amenities like 5* hotel
linens and toiletries from The White Company in London and Kiehl's in New York as standard. Every guest is also lent
an iPhone for the duration of their stay which is stocked with
local tips and helpful videos recorded by the home's owner, and
from which they can make free local calls. Members benefit by
earning an income from a house or flat which would otherwise sit
vacant, without the risk or hassle associated with alternatives
like holiday rental or short letting. Since its launch in 2010,
onefinestay has signed up hundreds of members, and today manages an
exclusive portfolio of over $1bn of
beautiful upscale homes in London
and New York.
About Canaan Partners
Canaan Partners invests in entrepreneurs and works alongside
them to turn visionary ideas into valuable companies. Since 1987,
the firm has catalyzed the growth of disruptive technology startups
and healthcare companies revolutionizing the practice of medicine.
With $3.5 billion under management
and more than 85 acquisitions and 53 IPOs to date, Canaan has funded technology companies such as
SuccessFactors (NASDAQ: SFSF), DoubleClick (acquired by Google),
Match.com (acquired by IAC), Acme Packet (NASDAQ: APKT), Active
Network (NYSE: ACTV), ID Analytics (acquired by LifeLock) and
SandForce (acquired by LSI), as well as notable healthcare
companies such as Advanced BioHealing (acquired by Shire); Advance
PCS (acquired by Caremark), BiPar Sciences (acquired by Sanofi);
Calixa Therapeutics (acquired by Cubist); Cerexa Pharmaceuticals
(acquired by Forest Labs) and
Peninsula Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Johnson & Johnson).
Current technology investments include Tremor Video, KABAM, Lending
Club, blip, Zoosk and Blurb in the US; BharatMatrimony, Loylty
Rewardz, Naaptol and UnitedLex in India; and PrimeSense, LiveU and CallmyName in
Israel. The Canaan healthcare portfolio includes emerging
leaders such as Liquidia Technologies, Theraclone Sciences, Durata,
Civitas Therapeutics, Elevation Pharmaceuticals and DICOM Grid.
Canaan maintains a presence in the
global innovation hubs of New
York, Silicon Valley, India
and Israel. For more information
visit http://www.canaan.com or
http://www.facebook.com/canaanpartners.
About Index Ventures
Index Ventures is a venture capital firm, founded in 1996, that
partners with entrepreneurs in the technology, biotech and clean
tech industries. The team is based in Geneva, London, Jersey and San Francisco. Index works closely with
companies at all stages to build disruptive technologies into
market defining global leaders. The firm is currently investing
from the Index Ventures Seed Fund (2010), Index Ventures fund V
(€350 million, 2009) and the Index Ventures Growth IIfund (€500
million, 2011). Successful exits from the technology portfolio
include Lovefilm (acquired by Amazon), Betfair (LSE : BET.L),
Playfish (acquired by Electronic Arts), MySQL (acquired by Sun),
Last.fm (acquired by CBS) and Skype (acquired by eBay). Index's
current investments include ASOS, Astley
Clarke, Criteo, Dropbox, Etsy, Facebook, Glasses Direct,
Moleskine, Moo, Songkick and Sonos. For more information, please
visit http://www.indexventures.com or follow on Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/indexventures.
About PROfounders Capital
PROfounders Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm
backed by successful entrepreneurs with a focus on the digital
media and technology space. PROfounders' investors number some of
the best-known players within the Internet, mobile, and e-commerce
areas. Our twenty investors include Michael
Birch (founder of Bebo), Brent
Hoberman (founder of Lastminute.com), Andy Phillipps (founder of ActiveHotels), and
Karen Hanton (founder of TopTable).
The fund's aim is to invest in and support new businesses with
capital plus proactive advice and expertise in order to create
long-term value and promote entrepreneurism. Our investments
include tweetdeck (acquired by Twitter), Made.com, MangaHigh, and
onefinestay. http://www.profounderscapital.com