Luxury travel brand Mr & Mrs Smith beats crowdfunding target by over 500%

Boutique travel company Mr & Mrs Smith has closed its crowdfunding campaign ahead of deadline after smashing its £1m target.

The London-based business ended its investment push on Crowdcube 10 days earlier than planned, having raised more than £6.1m from over 2,000 people.

The campaign, due to close on October 18, passed its target within the first 24 hours.

Mr & Mrs Smith will use the investment to build on 22% year-on-year growth in its total transaction value, which rose from £51.8m to £63.5m in June. The company has also recently achieved growth of 35% in booked revenue, from £7.9m to £10.6m.

Plans for the business include an accelerated push into the US market and expansion of Mr & Mrs Smith SideStories, a new culture-experience brand.

Co-founder Tamara Lohan said: “We’re beyond delighted that so many of our members and supporters of our business are joining this exciting next stage of our journey.

“Their investment will enable us to scale the company quickly and help even more people around the world uncover spectacular places and have unforgettable experiences with those who matter most to them.”

Co-founder James Lohan commented: “This crowdfunding campaign has been a humbling reminder of how passionate people are about the business and our mission to shake up luxury travel.

“Thanks to the support of our new shareholders, we can now rapidly expand our curated collection of boutique hotels and villas, extend our international reach, and enrich our experiences offering.”

He added: “It has been a great honour to see our community accept our invitation with such enthusiasm.”

Mr & Mrs Smith was founded 15 years ago. The company now has 1.5 million members across 100 countries.

Luke Lang, the co-founder of equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube, said of the campaign: “It was fantastic to see Mr & Mrs Smith smash their initial target so quickly and raise the funds that will help them take the business to the next level.

“We’re really pleased to have been able to support such inspiring entrepreneurs and a great British business through this campaign, which can be a launchpad for their continued success.”

Last month, Crowdcube announced that over 100 fundraisings of more than £1m have taken place on its digital investment platform to date.