Avi Meir, co-founder and CEO of the business travel platform TravelPerk.Courted by TravelPerkThe technology company TravelPerk—a startup founded in Barcelona in 2015 that became a unicorn in 2022 when it surpassed the valuation of $1 billion—is still in business. their path of growth. After closing a capital increase of 95 million euros in January, this Tuesday it announced that the asset managers Blackstone Credit & Insurance and Blue Owl Credit have granted it a new line of credit of 135 million dollars (126 million euros per year). current change). In addition, TravelPerk takes a leap forward in its expansion, with the acquisition of the American company AmTrav, which will allow it to double the income it receives from this market, one of the most important for the startup. The startup, founded by Javier Suárez and Avi Meir, two former employees of the booking website Booking, has been on a roll since the pandemic, despite the fact that the economic context of high interest rates means a more restrictive environment for investment in technology. In 2021 TravelPerk acquired the British Click Travel, the following year it closed an investment round that elevated it to the “unicorn” category, and this 2024, so far this year, it has already raised 221 million euros with the expansions of capital and lines of credit. The company's financial director, Roy Hefer, explains by video call that this money, as well as the loan that the company acquired when it bought Click, have served above all to refinance the company's debt, «and a small part is for growth «, for example with the acquisition of AmTrav,» says Hefer, who does not detail how much the operation has cost. The purchase of AmTrav, a company with 30 years of experience in managing business trips for small and medium-sized companies and founded in Chicago , will be the lever to fully enter the US market. TravelPerk plans to double its revenue in the United States, after growing 65% in that market in 2023 compared to the previous year. The AmTrav brand and team will continue. With this acquisition, TravelPerk will double its revenue in the US, following 65% year-over-year growth in the market in 2023. TravelPerk's workforce and presence in the US expands to now include offices in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami. AmTrav will operate under the same brand, and the entire team will continue the business. “His greatest strength is knowledge of the industry and relationships with suppliers. This industry is complex, and they have found a segment that loves their product, they have very loyal customers and with us they have great synergy in the business culture. We have been talking to them for two years and they knew that if they were going to sell their business they could only do it to TravelPerk,” explains Hefer, who highlights the potential of the business they are dedicated to in the United States: the market reached $329 billion in 2023. , according to the Global Business Travel Association. “In the world, business is already bigger than before covid. It is gigantic, and I think we are approaching it in a unique way, through artificial intelligence, which makes our gross margins grow up to 70%,” explains the financial director. The company, according to the latest published data, has a turnover of about 150 million euros, a figure that Hefer expects to increase to 200 million this year, and has about 1,200 employees, a workforce that is expected to grow, since so far this year more than 150 people have already been hired. In addition to the United States, the most important European markets for TravelPerk are the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain. Follow all the Cinco Días information on Facebook, x and Linkedin, or in our Five Day Agenda newsletter
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