CarTrawler, the B2B car rental specialist, has received a €100 million investment from TowerBrook Capital Partners, giving its backer a controlling stake in
the company.
The investment will help Dublin, Ireland-based CarTrawler boost its current
financial position as well as drive growth.
The company says it is well-placed for when travel recovers with its
“market position, international footprint and sophisticated data capabilities,” which helps airlines and other travel companies to increase ancillary revenue through selling car rentals.
Cormac Barry, CEO of CarTrawler, says: “This investment will allow
CarTrawler to come out of this period of unprecedented disruption with a
stronger platform for growth.”
Of the COVID-19 crisis, Barry says:
“Like many companies in the travel sector, we have experienced material
trading impacts ... but the crisis will pass, and this deal will allow us to
further enhance our proposition to our partners and our suppliers.”
CarTrawler sold a majority stake to BC Partners in 2014 in a deal later reported to be worth €450 million.
Prior to that, the company had raised an undisclosed round in 2011 from ECI Partners.
It has also made a number of acquisitions including the online assets of Holiday Autos in mid-2013 and Cabforce in April 2015.
CarTrawler’s customers include Alaska Airlines, EasyJet, KLM and
Emirates.