The Plum Guide to launch in six new cities thanks to £14m boost

Holiday rental company The Plum Guide has announced its expansion into six cities across Europe and Asia after securing £14m in a Series B investment round.

The funding, led by Talis Capital, has enabled the London based vacation property platform to expand operations on a global scale, launching in Barcelona, Berlin, Copenhagen, Lisbon, Madrid, and Tel Aviv next month.

Founded by Doron Meyassed, The Plum Guide specialises in curating a high-end holiday rental property guide, using a self-developed algorithm and hospitality critic visits in a two-step process to identify and verify suitable properties.

Speaking about the investment, Matus Maar, managing partner and co founder at Talis Capital, explained: “The consumer market has entered into an age of curation where data, ratings and reviews need to be carved into useful information to support buying decisions.

“We see huge value in businesses and teams that create a competitive advantage by being strategically data driven. The Plum Guide has something very special and customers are already showing amazing loyalty for its hand-picked and meticulously-vetted holiday rentals.”

Around 100 new hires are planned to support the company’s growth ambitions, and by the end of 2019 it expects to offer almost 12,000 verified homes in cities around the world.

As well as Talis Capital, the Series B investment round also included participation from firms Latitude, Hearst Ventures and existing Series A round investors Octopus Ventures.

Zihao Xu, early stage investor at Octopus Ventures, added: “The more cities The Plum Guide is in the better it will be for all its customers. We’re excited to continue supporting Doron and the team in taking the company truly global, and building out their vision of what an iconic hospitality brand in the 21st century should be.”