Online homeware search engine ufurnish.com has appointed a high-profile chairman.
Pat McCann, a former CEO at Jurys Doyle Hotel Group and founder of Dalata Hotel Group, has been involved with the firm as an investor and advisor since its inception.
Launched in 2019 by Deirdre McGettrick and Ray Wright, ufurnish.com brings 125+ retailers across the market onto one website to simplify furniture search.
The couple approached McCann in 2018 for advice when ufurnish.com was but a concept.
Users are able to favourite products, create home furnishing design boards and receive notifications for sales alerts and retailer promotions. Once they are ready to purchase, one click takes them directly to their desired product on the retailer’s website.
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“Deirdre and Ray have put together a really fantastic team and I am very excited about the prospects for this business,” said McCann, one of Ireland’s most renowned international entrepreneurs.
“I am delighted to have been asked to join the new board of directors as Chairman. I am really looking forward to working with this great team and helping exploit the full potential of what ufurnish.com can achieve.”
McCann began his career in 1969, when he joined the Ryan Hotel Group. He was appointed CEO of Jury’s Hotel Group plc in 2000, prior to setting up Dalata Hotel Group in 2007 which he grew to 44 hotels across Ireland and the UK.
Dalata is listed on both the London Stock Market and Dublin Stock Market and has a market cap of €1 billion. Earlier this month, McCann announced his plan to retire from the firm, with his executive role to cease in December and his board role in April 2022.
“Pat McCann is a visionary business leader and his appointment as chairman is a massive triumph for our business at a time of huge growth,” said Deirdre McGettrick.
“His experience and passion for building businesses and brands will be critical to us as we scale. We are delighted to have a person of Pat’s calibre on the journey with us.”
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In 2020 uFurnish closed a £2.3m in funding, built out its senior executive team with a CTO from Lastminute.com and CMO with pedigree from DFS, and grew to 125+ retailers and 1.1m furniture and furnishing products on its platform.
The firm was selected as one of five London rising star companies by Tech Nation in December and has enjoyed month–on–month growth of more than 90% at the start of 2021.
“Our next key milestone will be closing our Series A investment raise which we are actively speaking to investors at this current time to help us accelerate our growth plans,” added McGettrick.
“We are targeting a raise up to £10m and first conversations are progressing really strongly with a third of the round subscribed.”