HalalBooking adds $2.5M to Series B round

Travel search and booking platform HalalBooking has added $2.5 million in angel investment to its Series B round.

The company said it has raised $7.5 million to date, with $5 million of that coming from a convertible loan that was converted into Series B shares at a 20% discount from the company’s $102 million valuation.

Founded in 2014, HalalBooking has more than 500,000 halal-friendly hotel and villa accommodations in more than 100 countries on its platform.

Travelers can filter properties based on specific needs, such as the availability of halal food, prayer facilities and gender-specific pools.

“This is still a relatively small angel round and the company’s cap table remains mostly under the ownership of the founders,” said Elnur Seyidli, CEO of HalalBooking.

“This investment, combined with cash we generate from our healthy 17% profit margin, will help us to accelerate our 2023-24 growth and be in a stronger position to reach our $1 billion unicorn goal sooner. There is a lot of interest from institutional investors, who have been closely watching our growth since the pandemic, which is leading us to consider a larger, institutional $30-40 million Series C round to further accelerate our growth rate. This would increase the likelihood of reaching the $1 billion goal in three to four years, rather than in, say, six to seven years of more organic growth.”

HalalBooking said its July sales were a record at $10 million, up 45% compared with July 2022, and it expects to reach $75 million in sales this year and $600 million in four to five years.

Along with its consumer-focused platform, HalalBooking has more than 2,600 affiliate agency partners and more than 50 API integrations with companies including Expedia, Agoda and Hotelbeds.

The company won the Launch pitch competition at Phocuswright Europe in 2020.