Football travel firm Homefans overfunded its equity crowdfunding target after raising £111,590 on Crowdcube in 30 days.
The company, which is based in Cheshire and has an office in the Netherlands, organises group trips to high-profile games, with unique experiences beyond the 90 minutes.
Customers meet locals, go to pub nights and even play football at the club’s official training pitch. The firm has taken more than 250 travellers from six different countries across Europe for the past 10 months.
“We were overwhelmed by the positive response of the crowd, with 166 investors on board, believing in our concept and in the ambitious growth plans,” said Verbeek.
Co-founders Luke Verbeek and Daniel Velásquez came up with the idea after their personal experiences and frustration with football travelling.
With the investment in place, the team plan to increase the marketing spent, launch new products, add new team members and expand to other geographies.
“We devised a very detailed growth plan and will surely follow it with the added value of new directors on board and new commercial opportunities,” said Velásquez.
“The B2B segment is taking shape within the company and we see it as the ultimate growth driver for Homefans.”
The firm says it is in talks for new partnerships with travel operators across Europe and is looking for new source markets in Asia and Latin America.
It plans to unveil new destinations shortly, with the 2018 World Cup in Russia a possibility.
Homefans is collaborating directly with professional football clubs.