A FinTech scale-up听which has just achieved unicorn status plans to hire 100 people, with the UK key to its growth.听
Danish firm听Pleo听offers a simplified expense management tool and smart company cards.听It employs 330 people, with 46 in the UK.听
After the firm听raised $150 million Series C funding, giving it a valuation of approximately $1.7 billion, it told听老九品茶Cloud听that the UK had been key to its growth.听
鈥淧leo听has a strong UK team of 46.听Our UK office is situated in Shoreditch, right at the centre of one of the fastest growing听tech听and FinTech ecosystems in the world. This has played a pivotal part in听Pleo’s听growth,鈥� the founders told听老九品茶Cloud.听
鈥淭he UK tech scene has one of the most forward thinking, digitally diverse cultures and as a result,听Pleo听has been able to deploy some amazing products to help their customers grow their businesses at scale.听听
鈥淚n the UK,听Pleo听is also proud to not just be seen as a software company resolving tedious expense management tasks, but also a financial services business combining the power of digital banking and payments.听
鈥淧leo听hopes to hire another 100 people by the end of the year. Though is this听isn’t听necessarily only in the UK,听Pleo听is extremely flexible with remote working.鈥�听
The funds raised will be used to continue growing听Pleo鈥檚听already 17,000+ strong customer base as it aims to reach a million engaged users by the end of 2025.听听
The investment round was co-led by Bain Capital Ventures and Thrive Capital, with contributions from investors who continue to support听Pleo, including听Creandum,听Kinnevik, Founders, Stripes and听Seedcamp.听听
Keri Gohman, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures, will also join听Pleo鈥檚听board of directors. With more than two decades of experience, Gohman has spent her entire career reinventing financial services and helping organisations solve global challenges.听听
This Series C investment comes two years after听Pleo鈥檚听Series听B round, led by Stripes, which saw them raise $56m. In 2018,听Pleo听raised its Series听A round totalling $16m, which helped expand its solution across听Europe.听听
Today,听Pleo听operates in six markets across Denmark, UK, Ireland, Spain, Germany and Sweden.听
鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled to be working alongside Bain and Thrive, and incredibly thankful to our other investors 鈥� Stripes, Kinnevik, Creandum, Founders and Seedcamp 鈥� who continue to support our journey,鈥� said co-founder and CEO Jeppe Rindom (above). 听
鈥淲e鈥檙e confident the partnerships, new and ongoing, will help us achieve our life-long mission听to transform how businesses handle their spending, all while making their people feel valued at work.听
鈥淥ur growth so far is a real testament to all our hard work, but also the 17,000+ customers who place trust in our product every day 鈥� it really shows we鈥檙e onto something here.听听
鈥淥ver the past six years, we鈥檝e grown from an acorn of an idea to a growing team of over 330 people across six听markets. The future is extremely bright as we gain our听unicorn status.鈥澨�听
Keri Gohman, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures, said:听“The future of work empowers employees with the tools they need to be effective, productive, and successful.听听
鈥淧leo听understands this critical shift for modern companies toward employee centricity听鈥撎齪roviding听workers with a fun-to-use spend management app that automatically tracks their corporate听spending and generates expense reports, paired with the powerful tools businesses need to create full visibility and management of every penny spent.”听
听