Project Description

HMT LLP advised Maven Capital Partners (“Maven”) on their investment in technology company Chic Lifestyle Ltd, which operates under the brand Chic Retreats (“Chic”).

Chic Retreats operates in the online B2B travel and tourism sector, enabling independent and boutique hotels, as well and luxury villas, to optimise the distribution of their rooms, rates and availability online.  The Company’s innovative software targets an under served segment of the market allowing these smaller properties to manage inventory in real time and process bookings through a number of leading traffic generators.

The independent boutique hotel and villa market has experienced strong growth in recent years as consumers are increasingly looking for ‘authentic’ travel experiences.  Chic Retreats is capitalising on this trend and differentiating itself by focusing heavily on producing detailed content on each destination which informs travellers about the local area.

Maven have committed up to £2 million in the business.  The investment will enable Chic Retreats to complete the development of its core technology platform, enhance its web and mobile offerings and expand its footprint into new geographies.

HMT undertook financial due diligence for Maven on this transaction.

Amir Azulay, CEO at Chic Retreats commented:

We are extremely excited about the prospects for Chic Retreats. We have developed a highly sophisticated platform which allows independent hotels to efficiently manage their inventory for the first time. This is no small technological feat. We pride ourselves in the excellent team we have recruited to date and are very pleased to now have an investor like Maven on board which brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and insight into managing and scaling businesses like ours

Stella Panu, Partner at Maven commented:

We have been impressed by the vision of the management team and their commitment to fully understanding customer needs by creating a tailored solution for members, which improves their ability to drive efficiencies and increase revenues from available room stock.

I would also like to extend my thanks to HMT and their extensive and detailed knowledge in their approach to the financial due diligence.  Once again we were delighted to work with the HMT team and we look forward to working with them again in the future.

HMT commented:

We are delighted to have once again advised Stella, Dale and the team on their investment.  With Maven’s support, Amir and Chic Retreats have a very exciting future ahead of them.