NITGBs formally launched its second crowdfunding campaign on Thursday (8 June), giving agents the chance to invest in the business from as a little as £12.70 for five shares.
Agents who invest in NITGBs will be able to access discounts on their own travel, be invited to attend NITGBs events, and have opportunities to join experiential agent fam trips.
Some 184 agents flagged their interest after NITGBs opened pre-registration in mid-May, the business revealed on Thursday. The campaign will be live for a month.
“The response we’ve received so far from agents in the pre-registration has already surpassed our expectations,” said NITGBs chief executive Carol Savage. “Our vision is to be a platform for agents, owned by agents – and we are well on our way to achieving this.”
Savage added money raised through the campaign would be used to launch new experiential trips and expand Not in the Guidebooks’ destination portfolio, as well as update its technology and trade-facing systems – including better search and booking tools, and greater access to "inspirational content".
“By investing in Not in the Guidebooks, agents will become shareholders in a business that has exciting and ambitious plans to expand,” Savage continued. “We’re building a global brand, which we believe has a huge potential to scale over the next four to five years into an exit-ready £50 million business.”
The excursion specialist has grown by more than 350% since launching in 2019, with agents booking thousands of travellers onto Not in the Guidebooks’ private tours.
A first round of fundraising saw the company raise an initial £320,000 with the help of investors such as the E-100 Angels, the private angel investment club of the London Business School, as well as start-up ranking agency Capital Pilots.
More than 8,000 agents are registered to use the NITGBs website, with NITGBs now working with a wide range of consortia and homeworking agencies – including The Advantage Travel Partnership, Travel Counsellors, Hays Travel and Midcounties Co-operative, offering agents more ways to tailor bookings and build packages.
