Partech leads a €70 million round in leading travel marketplace Evaneos

Partech is delighted to announce the tenth investment of its Growth Fund in Evaneos, the leading marketplace for experiential travel. The round is one of the largest VC rounds of 2018 in France.

Partech is the lead investor in Evaneos’ €70 million round. New investors Level Equity (US-based growth equity investor) and Quadrille Capital, as well as existing shareholders XAnge, Serena Capital and Bpifrance, also participated.

Evaneos is an online marketplace that connects travelers with carefully selected local travel agencies creating tailor-made trips all over the world.

The company is the clear European leader in this market, which it has pioneered, and now aims at becoming a global brand by accelerating its international development. Evaneos’ next challenge will be to continue its sustained growth and to develop its direct to-local concept outside of Europe. North America has been identified as a first major area of investment. Ultimately, the company’s objective is to become the global go-to brand for customized, authentic travel experiences.

US growth fund Level Equity (with which Partech has already co-invested in UK online furniture brand Made.com) has also taken part in the round. Level Equity will leverage its knowledge of the US market to support Evaneos’ internationalization, especially to North America.

Bruno Crémel, General Partner at Partech, explains the investment:
“The relevance of Evaneos’ innovative value proposition stems from their strong in-depth understanding of travelers’ and local agents’ expectations. The strength of Eric and Yvan’s vision, combined with an exceptional operational and technological execution, explains Evaneos’ growing success among travelers worldwide; what is more, Evaneos’ key contribution to local agents’ development and the constant expansion of its network of international partners are additional elements which convinced us at Partech to support Evaneos in its new growth phase.”

A clear coming of age of the European tech market

Partech’s investment in Evaneos completes a long list of investments in large European fast-growing tech and digital businesses led by remarkable founders, all of which have quickly reached a leading position on the continent, attracting top talents and raising interest from customers and investors worldwide. Such category leaders include online design and furniture brand Made.com (UK), online fashion brand NA-KD (Sweden), social intelligence SaaS Brandwatch (UK); Enterprise Content Management disruptor M-Files (Finland); supplier CSR rating platform EcoVadis (France); full digital marketing suite for SMBs SendinBlue (France).

An extended capacity for Partech’s growth team

Partech also reinforces its growth team with the promotion of Paris-based Victor Huberson to Principal and the arrival of Henrik Grosse Hokamp as an Associate based in Berlin.

Victor Huberson joined Partech in October 2017 after five years in investment banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He is now being promoted to Principal.
Henrik Grosse Hokamp joined Partech in 2015 and has been working on Seed and Venture investments until now. He now focuses on Growth investments and splits his time between Berlin and Paris. Before joining Partech, Henrik worked for High-Tech Gründerfonds in Bonn.

About Partech:

Partech is a global investment firm with offices in San Francisco, Paris, Berlin and Dakar. We bring together capital, operational experience and strategic support for entrepreneurs at seed, venture and growth stages across multiple continents, with over $1.2B investment capacity. Investments range from $200K to $50M in a wide range of technologies and businesses for enterprises and consumers, from software, digital brands and services, to hardware and deep tech across all major industries. Companies backed by Partech have completed more than 20 initial public offerings and more than 50 strategic exits above $100M.
Current portfolio: https://partechpartners.com/companies/