Manchester party travel brand snapped up by The Booked it Group
London-based tech firm, The Booked it Group, has acquired Manchester’s Party Hard Travel, for an undisclosed sum.
The deal sees The Booked it Group move into the travel sector, ahead of a £2.5m Series A funding round through the PWC Raise Programme.
Party Hard Travel was founded in 2014, and now takes 20,000 18-30s to Europe each year.
It joins The Booked it Group’s current stable of brands, such as social platform Licklist with its focus on the night time economy, and Booked it, providing technology solutions to the leisure, activity and hospitality markets.
Brad Nobbs, CEO and co-founder of The Booked it Group, said the deal was a natural progression based on their existing relationship and similarities in core audiences.
He said: “As technology provider to the brand, we developed their booking system which enabled a seamless experience for Party Hard Travel’s guests, created RFID technology for scanned entry into events – making the process quicker and safer for guests – and provided event photography.
“The Booked it Group’s Licklist brand was founded in 2015 as a social platform, with a focus on the nightlife industry and has over 1.2 million active users, primarily in the 18-30 bracket. There is a strong synergy between Licklist and Party Hard Travel.”
Even throughout the pandemic, The Booked it Group enjoyed significant growth, through its range of technology services for the leisure, activity and hospitality sectors, including ticketing, loyalty and mobile ordering, processing £2m in orders each month and £25m each year.
Brad said: “Now is the right time for further expansion of The Booked it Group. The pandemic enabled our business to broaden our market from clubs and events to encompass racecourses, activity centres and hospitality venues – basically all businesses taking payment-led bookings. Our acquisition of Party Hard Travel will allow us to build on the success that the travel brand has already enjoyed, and our knowledge of their business and the needs of their customers, whilst extending our reaching further within the travel sector.”
As part of the acquisition, Nathan Cable, co-founder of Party Hard Travel, has joined The Booked it Group’s board of directors.
Brad said: “As a valued member of The Booked it Group board, Nathan will not only continue to lead and drive the Party Hard Travel brand but advise on the development of other brands within The Booked it Group.
“In the short term for Party Hard Travel, our focus is on delivering a solid summer 2022. From September, we will begin implementing new plans. We believe that the Party Hard Travel brand can be replicated across other territories and seasons. There’s a strong team in place, and huge opportunities for cross-pollination and growth.”
Nathan Cable said the investment from The Booked it Group marks a new era for Party Hard Travel: “For technology that makes events run like clockwork, there’s no better than The Booked it Group. They’ve been our safe pair of hands for years now, getting the technology right so we could concentrate on our customers. They know our brand and our business inside-out. For Party Hard Travel, there couldn’t be a better fit than The Booked it Group.”
He added: “Like for all travel firms, the pandemic has been a tough ride, but there is a lot of love for the Party Hard Travel brand. We gave nearly £1m in refunds to our customers who were not able to travel due to restrictions. With this new investment from The Booked it Group, exciting new marketing campaigns and brand new destinations, hotels and events for 2022, I’m excited for this next phase of growth for Party Hard Travel.”
Growth is a priority for The Booked it Group as it approaches a Series A funding round and expands into the US.
The Series A funding will be the first venture capital funding for The Booked it Group following successful, pre-pandemic entry onto the PWC Raise programme. The tech firm raised more than £700,000 from Angel Investors over the past five years.
