21 Oct 2016

Time Out acquires events platform YPlan for £1.6 million

Just three months post Initial Public Offering and Time Out Group has made its first acquisition.

The company, which specialises in city and restaurant guides, has bought events platform YPlan for an initial consideration of £1.6 million.

Time Out Group says the acquisition is in line with its strategy to invest in technology and product as set out when it listed back in June.

Just under two years ago YPlan raised Series B funding of $24 million, bringing the total it raised to about $38 million. At the time it also announced it was expanding to let event organisers add and manage their listings.

YPlan made a £6.2 million pre-tax loss in 2015 (its first full financial year) which is attributed to its investment in technology.

In a statement Time Out says YPlan will provide it with “an advanced ecommerce platform which will accelerate and scale its existing ecommerce business.”

It adds that it also brings a talented technology team and enables Time Out to improve the user-experience by “managing transactions between consumers and businesses in-house.”

The terms of the acquisition are cash-free with Time Out paying in Ordinary Shares. Further shares with a value of £0.8 million is payable 12 months after completion.