–
–
Demonstrating clearly that what goes around comes around Brent Hoberman is a high tech entrepreneur from the past, who listed travel site lastminute.com at the peak of the previous high-tech bubble in the year 2000. Luckily for him the company had enough cash to ride out the ensuing crash, and the firm was later sold for US$1.1 billion in 2005. Now, nine years later it seems Hoberman is coming back to try his luck with public markets again with Made.com, of which he is the Chairman as well as a significant investor.
Furniture “etailer” Made.com is reported by the Daily Telegraph to have finally launched its plan to float with an IPO on the London markets. The four year old company, which is backed by several venture investors, including Hoberman, one of the most durable of dot.com survivors, was first rumoured to be thinking of a flotation back in April according to London press reports at the time.
Then, the online furniture retailer was thought to want to to use the money from an IPO to help increase the pace of its market penetration in Europe. Currently Made.com operates in the British, French and Italian markets.
Now reports indicate that Made.com, has appointed Citi Group and Peel Hunt to work on a potential initial public offering, alongside financial advisers Rothschild.
The company was founded back in 2010 with US$4 million of initial venture funding. After a second venture round was completed in 2012 the company’s investor group included the New York firm Level Equity and London-based PROfounders Capital, where Brent Hoberman hangs his hat himself these days.
Seattle Coffee founder John Hunt has also invested through his venture firm Archimedia, as has the online dating company Meetic’s founder Marc Simoncini, through his venture firm Jania Capital.
Made.com was set up by two French entrepreneurs Julien Callade and Ning Li. The company started out with just three employees and today this has already grown to 110. Made.com is proud of its modus operandi, which facilitates its customers in buying directly from its manufacturers – cutting out the middle-men, including itself… thus bringing down costs and prices, for which it typically takes only a small mark-up. The company claims up to 70% discounts compared to High Street pricing as a result.
As well as being a partner at PROfounders Brent Hoberman most recently founded another VC-backed internet based startup, mydeco, an online interior décor site that he hopes may revolutionise the way homebuilders shop for the key design elements for their homes. Brent also serves on the Advisory Board at MobiMate and Kenshoo. He is a Governor of University of the Arts College, in London and is a non-executive Board Director of the Guardian Media Group. Brent is also an angel investor in several internet companies including Viagogo, Wayn.com and moveme.com.
–
