Boutique hotel firm Mr & Mrs Smith smashes crowdfunding target

UK hotel company's crowdfund is one of the most successful on the platform – second only to Monzo in speed.

Boutique hotel company Mr & Mrs Smith has reached its million pound crowdfunding target within one day on Crowdcube.

The business will use the investment to support the growth of its US villa and hotel business and develop a US membership.

‘A huge thank you to all our investors. It’s fantastic(and rather humbling) to see so many people showing such faith in our business,’ said Mr & Mrs Smith in a statement.

The business is now in a group of firms that have raised £1 million or more on Crowdcube and joins Monzo, who raised £1 million in a staggering 96 seconds on the platform, and online estate agent Emoov and meal box firm Mindful Chef who raised £1.8 million and £1.9 million in July 2018 and September last year respectively.

Further reading on crowdfunding

‘Mr & Mrs Smith’s fundraising is not super common but is not entirely unforeseen’ said a Crowdcube spokesperson.

Its current fundraising stands at £1.57 million after 443 investors piled in to take a slice of the 5.65 per cent that the business was offering.

The company says it plans to continue to build a profitable business and exit in three-five years time through a suitable trade buyer or a private equity acquisition.

What is Mr & Mrs Smith?

Mr & Mrs Smith's co-founders James and Tamara Lohan
Mr & Mrs Smith’s co-founders James and Tamara Lohan

The business was founded in 2003 by co-founders and husband and wife Tamara and James Lohan and has over 1.5 million members around the world. The company also has partnerships with British Airways, Vitality and Coutts and made £60 million of bookings in the past year. Its turnover was £14.8 million in 2018, up from £12.2 million in 2017 and it made a £210,000 profit in 2017.

Find out more about Mr & Mrs Smith in the video below

 

Michael Somerville

Michael Somerville

Michael was senior reporter for GrowthBusiness.co.uk from 2018 to 2019.