Hair and beauty marketplace Wahanda has secured a further $46m from Japan’s Recruit Holdings, as part of a nine-figure deal that sees it take a majority share and become the sole investor in the UK-based company.
The firm will use the cash to grow its 210-strong team and further expand across the UK and Europe, expecting a presence in eight countries by the end of next month.
Wahanda acquired Germany’s Salonmeister in October 2014, when it also raised a Series C round of $26m, in a bid to capture the European market. In January, it also made an acqui-hire of the team at Lithuania’s LemonLabs mobile agency.
Lopo Champalimaud, CEO and founder of Wahanda, said: “With its Hot Pepper Beauty business in Japan, Recruit has a wealth of experience in this space and understands how to scale our business. Our ambitions are aligned and the capital investment, expertise and knowledge that Recruit provides will enable us to continue on our growth trajectory, truly cementing our position as the leader in our field.”
Early investors FGPE, Fidelity, 14W, Lepe Partners and ASI have all exited the company following the latest round.