Skyscanner valued at £1.1bn in fresh funding round

Travel search engine Skyscanner has raised £128 million from five new investors, including Edinburgh fund manager Baillie Gifford and joint venture partner Yahoo Japan.

Skyscanner chief executive Gareth Williams said it was an 'exciting time' for the Edinburgh-based firm

The move, which is understood to value the Edinburgh-based company at about $1.6 billion (£1.1bn), is aimed at accelerating its growth in the £322bn online travel market.

Along with Baillie Gifford and Yahoo Japan, the new investors include global fund manager Artemis, Malaysian government strategic investment fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad and European private equity firm Vitruvian Partners. They join existing backers Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) and US-based Sequoia Capital.

Skyscanner chief executive Gareth Williams said: “Skyscanner has enjoyed high double-digit growth rates for some years now, and has been profitable since 2009.

“This success is thanks to our 1,200 direct partner relationships, the trust of the 50 million travellers who use us every month, our technology and the dedication of our teams to deliver the best experience for travellers possible.”

He added: “This financing round and our recent new hires allow us to build fantastic further tools for travellers. I’d like to thank SEP and Sequoia for their belief in us and also welcome our new investors to the team. We have so much more to do together – it’s an exciting time.”

Skyscanner, which employs more than 700 people across ten offices – comprising Edinburgh, Glasgow, Barcelona, Beijing, Budapest, London, Miami, Shenzhen, Singapore and Sofia – was advised on the funding round by Goldman Sachs International and Numis Securities, jointly acting as financial advisers, brokers and bookrunners.