Huda Beauty sisters bet on professional beauty with latest investment 

Published: 15-Jun-2021

Huda and Mona Kattan have expanded their HB Investments portfolio by funding online booking platform Fresha 

Fresha, the British salon and wellness booking platform, has announced US$100m of series C funding. 

Led by equity firm General Atlantic – which names AirBnB, Facebook and Snap in its portfolio – the financial round also includes Huda and Mona Kattan, founders of Huda Beauty and HB Investments to become Fresha's strategic partner.

Other notable partners include Target Global, Michael Zeisser of FMZ Ventures, former Chairman Investments at Alibaba Group and Jonathan Green of Lugard Road Capital.

According to Fresha, the latest investment will allow the company to broaden its global community of partner salons and spas, scale product development, deepen its marketplace bookings and pursue strategic M&A.

"From the day we founded Fresha, our core focus has been on offering a solution that delights our customers. That drive has continued to direct our feature development and long-term vision. The rapid growth we're seeing comes down to having happy customers that love using Fresha," said Fresha founder and CEO, William Zeqiri.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the transition across the globe to online bookings and integrated card payments, now seen as essential to run any modern salon or spa."

Huda Kattan said that she has seen "first-hand the positive impact Fresha has for beauty entrepreneurs".

She continued: "The company is a force for good in the growing community of beauty professionals around the globe, who are increasingly adopting a self-employed approach.

"By making top business software accessible without any subscription fees, Fresha lets professionals focus on what they do best — offering great experiences for their customers."

William Zeqiri founder and CEO of Fresha and Nick Miller, co-founder and CPO

William Zeqiri founder and CEO of Fresha and Nick Miller, co-founder and CPO

Originally founded in 2015 under the name Shedul, Fresha underwent a rebranding in 2020.

Headquartered in London, Fresha boasts 50,000 partner venues in more than 120 countries and is said to have processed nearly $12bn worth of professional beauty bookings to date.

Nick Miller, Fresha co-founder and Chief of Product, added: "More than ever, beauty and wellness businesses are opting to grow sales by leveraging tools to facilitate online payments, self-service bookings and automated marketing initiatives. Fresha's technology optimizes appointment bookings with real-time online availability and boosts local discovery, helping partner salons grow sales."

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