Farfetch raises over 75 million pounds for expansion push

London - UK luxury e-commerce platform Farfetch has set its sights on international growth after raising 110 million US dollars (75.6 million pounds) in a Series F funding round.

The successful funding round, advised by Qatalyst Partners, was led by new investors Temasek, a Singaporean investment company, IDG Capital Partners and Eurazeo, as well as existing investor Vitruvian Partners. Farfetch has managed to raise over 305 million US dollars in funding to date (210.7 million pounds). Terms of the deal were not disclosed, however market sources revealed to BoF the deal valued Farfetch at close to 1.5 billion US dollars (1.04 billion pounds).

"The vision for Farfetch was always to seamlessly integrate physical retail with digital platforms, which we have been doing since 2008, first starting with boutiques and 12 months ago adding brands to our global platform," commented José Neves, founder and CEO of Farfetch in a statement. "This investment comes after strong inbound interest from investors, some of which we felt could really help Farfetch in our largest and fastest growing markets, or had exposure to marketplaces and luxury fashion."

Farfetch raises 75.6 million pounds in Series F funding round

The funding will be used to continue Farfetch's expansion into Asia and fuel its growth in China, which accounts for 12 percent of Farfetch's sales, making it the online retailer's second largest market. Asia-Pacific markets collectively represent a further 14 percent of Farfetch's sales, as the retailer is keen to establish itself as a leading omni-channel platform. In addition, the funding will also be used to further the development of Farfetch proprietary technology platform.

The new investors aim to provide insights, networking and supports as well as driving continued growth in its key markets. "We were enticed by the Farfetch model which covers the sectors in which we have already gained a solid foothold: digital technology, luxury goods and brand names," said Virginie Morgon, Deputy CEO of Eurazeo. "In addition to its international profile, multi-channel model and its perfect understanding of the rules governing the luxury goods industry, we were very impressed by the company’s ground-breaking business model and the quality of its implementation, particularly from a technological perspective."

In addition to closing the series F fund, Farfetch also put in place a 50 million US dollar growth capital loan facility with triplepoint venture growth BDC corp this March. "This additional facility demonstrates the strength of the Farfetch business model, as well as confidence in future development plans," added Neves.

Photos: Farfetch, Facebook