Hair and beauty marketplace Wahanda has raised $26m and acquired its German equivalent Salonmeister as its European expansion continues.
The London-based marketplace lets users browse and book hair and beauty appointments online at over 6,000 hairdressers and spas.
The investment comes from RGIP, Fidelity Growth Partners and Lepe Partners
German acquisition
Berlin-based Salonmeister is the leading hair and beauty booking platform in Germany, Austria & Switzerland. It has over 1,000 spa and salon suppliers and currently processes over 20,000 bookings per month.
As part of the acquisition, Salonmeister CEO Louis Pfitzner will continue to run the business along with its co-founders Phillipp Rechberg and Nils Griess-Nega.
The two businesses offer effectively the same service and will eventually be integrated into a single global platform.
Wahanda is the clear market leader in the UK and CEO Lopo Champalimaud says the acquisition is “the first step in our long-term plan to expand the business across Europe”.
Growing marketplace
Wahanda lets salons and spas advertise their services through the marketplace, which it claims boosts bookings by 25% to 30%.
The UK beauty and wellness industry is said to be worth about $10bn and Champalimaud believes that Germany offers similar opportunities.
Salonmeister immediately struck us a company that shares the same values as Wahanda.
The German hair and beauty marketplace is a vibrant and exciting one, and is enjoying similar growth opportunities to the UK.