Alistair Daly, former On The Beach CMO, invests in TravelLocal.com following Series A funding round

Alistair Daly, the former Chief Marketing Officer of On The Beach Plc, has both invested in and joined the advisory board of TravelLocal.com, the e-commerce tailor-made holiday disruptor which connects clients directly with trusted local travel experts worldwide.

This follows TravelLocal raising its Series A funding round in August 2018 from Active Partners, the London-based growth capital investor, to accelerate its global expansion. On The Beach, also a travel e-commerce disruptor, floated in 2015 and grew to a market capitalisation of over £500m.

Joining Alistair Daly, both as investors and as Board Advisors, are Richard Kelman, former FD of Audley  Travel; James Kydd, the Marketing Director of listed online disruptor Purple Bricks (now worth £700 million+) and Richard Godfrey, formerly Senior Architect at Microsoft. Their collective experience – in high growth and blue-chip travel, disruptor, tech and branded businesses – brings a significant advantage to TravelLocal.

Bristol-based TravelLocal is transforming the tailor-made holiday industry by enabling clients to book directly with hand-picked local travel companies based in each of the destinations it serves, cutting out the traditional middleman. Founded by Tom Stapleton, Huw Owen and Mark Hudson (Executive Chairman), its innovative web platform launched in 2016. The TravelLocal.com website currently features 46 destinations, and the company has to date taken bookings from clients in 34 different countries.

Alistair Daly comments: “The tailor-made travel industry is still in the very early stages of disruption, as consumers move online and I am incredibly excited by TravelLocal’s current global traction and their huge growth opportunity. TravelLocal has built a compelling proposition; a quality online booking experience that connects consumers to trusted local experts, enabling customers to create the perfect authentic holiday experience. I look forward to being part of the growth journey with the TravelLocal team.”

TravelLocal co-founder and Joint MD Huw Owen comments: “Alistair brings enormous experience in travel e-commerce. He was a key part of the growth of On The Beach, from a founder-managed business all the way to its IPO. We are excited to be working with him as we start to scale up TravelLocal, now also with backing from our lead investor, Active Partners.”

Active Partners, which provided the Series A funding round in August 2018, invests in founder-led businesses with a strong brand and a distinctive proposition. Active Partners was especially attracted by  TravelLocal’s growth and exceptional client feedback – with a Net Promoter Score of over 90 – plus the global reach of the brand. Previous investments by Active Partners include Soho House, cycling brand Rapha and Leon Restaurants. 

Notes for Editors:   

• For more about TravelLocal, see https://www.travellocal.com/about/about-us
• For more on the destinations covered, see https://www.travellocal.com/destinations
• For recent articles and sample itineraries, see https://www.travellocal.com/inspiration
• For reviews, see https://www.travellocal.com/inspiration?types=3
• For further information about Active Partners, see https://active.partners/ 

Contact Sue Ockwell at Travel PR (07831 126 356) – s.ockwell@travelpr.co.uk.