Member Article

London tech travel startup secures £3.3m Series A funding

Portr has completed a £3.3m Series A investment round to fund its on-demand luggage delivery service, AirPortr, into new airports.

The London-based startup allows customers book their bag-free journey from their smartphone (via portr.com) in advance or on the day. Their luggage is then transported promptly and securely to or from the airport, freeing them up to travel more efficiently around the area they are staying.

Investors in the recent funding round included two Venture Capital Trust Funds managed by London fund manager Hargreave Hale and a number of angel investors with backgrounds in SaaS, technology and on-demand services.

Portr launched its same-day delivery service last year at London City Airport, which carries over 3.6 million passengers per annum and represents 2.5% of London’s air travel .

To coincide with the announcement on funding, Portr has also announced that they have secured a long-term agreement to operate at London Gatwick and have launched their AirPortr service in Gatwick South Terminal.

Portr has also announced the board will be joined by a new non-executive director, Sean McDonald. With over 20 years’ experience in the travel and technology industries, Sean was formerly Senior Vice President for Sales & Marketing at Expedia, where he ran the commercial teams at the Expedia Affiliate Network - the world’s largest online travel affiliate business.

Randel Darby, CEO & Founder commented: “Having worked hard to build a recognised service standard over the last twelve months in a challenging, typically risk-averse industry, this week’s announcements are hugely exciting and progressive for a start-up such as Portr.

“Having secured £3.3 million of equity funding, we are now well positioned to grow the business at the world’s largest single runway airport, London Gatwick, as well as continue to develop our faster travel products and technology, transforming transportation. One key area of development is our iOS operative app to support a truly mobile workforce.

“This enables our staff on the ground, being our user interface, to operate efficiently and with great flexibility from any location, servicing the customer’s every need - essential in larger airports and when testing new markets. So watch this space!”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .