Thursday 21 March 2019 4:59 pm | Updated: Monday 03 June 2019 1:30 am

Luxury rental property platform The Plum Guide to use £14m fundraise for rapid expansion

High-end property rental platform The Plum Guide, which aims to eliminate disappointment from holiday bookings, has raised £14m in a Series B funding round led by Talis Capital as it prepares to launch in six more cities.

The Plum Guide, which was set up in London in 2015, will be available in Barcelona, Berlin, Copenhagen, Lisbon, Madrid and Tel Aviv from next month.

A further six US cities will be added to the database later this year, joining New York and Los Angeles, as the platform takes on holiday booking rivals such as Airbnb and targets “affluent professionals that live in global megacities".

The funding will also be used to strengthen the team, with 100 new hires, as the company looks to “grow the science behind the perfect stay”.

The Plum Guide vets each property listed on its site in person and applies a test covering 150 points including proximity to cafes and transport and Wi-Fi speed.

“We put a huge amount of effort to make sure we matchmake people with the home that is right for them,” Doron Meyassed, chief executive and founder of The Plum Guide, said.

“We are constantly analysing what makes a good stay versus what makes a bad stay.”

The funding round was supported by Latitude and Hearst Ventures and existing investor Octopus ventures.

Matus Maar, managing partner and co-founder at Talis Capital, said: "The consumer market has entered into an age of curation where data, ratings and reviews need to be carved into useful information to support buying decisions.

“We see huge value in businesses and teams that create a competitive advantage by being strategically data driven.

“The Plum Guide has something very special and customers are already showing amazing loyalty for its hand-picked and meticulously-vetted holiday rentals.

“In Doron, we have also found a determined, highly ambitious and creative entrepreneur with a track record of building a successful business that competes at the very highest levels.”