Foxdeli's marketing platform, which is used by hundreds of domestic e-shops for so-called after-sales marketing, has a new main investor. Prime Fund bought a stake in Lighthouse Ventures (LHV) for more than 1 million euros in June, becoming Foxdeli's largest investor. LHV invested in the start-up of the firm two years ago.
“We always try to support projects that have high growth potential. Not every investment in the startup world works out, but in the case of Foxdeli, everything went to number one.” commends Michal Zálešák, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Lighthouse Ventures, who helped Foxdeli grow with his capital and knowledge.
The company has developed a sophisticated solution for direct communication of e-shops with the client after placing an order. A successful platform allows online stores to control the entire progress of the delivery of goods and continue to be in touch with clients. Thus, on the Czech market, the project gained hundreds of customers, including such players as Decathlon, Footshop, Alensa, Grizly and Lékárna.cz.
“This year we were faced with a difficult decision as to what to do next. In the end, we decided to accept a very interesting offer from Prime Fund. We will only be able to see Foxdeli's further growth from afar.” adds Michal Zálešák.
The Prime Fund Group injected money into Foxdeli back in 2021 through its private investment project Prime Fund Lab. Now, in 2023, she has become an absolute lead investor.
“At Prime Fund Lab, we support companies in the start-up phase. However, this spring we established the Prime Fund SICAV, where we plan to support the expansion of already established companies in the role of sole investors or lead investors. The opportunity to buy out Lighthouse Ventures came at the right moment,” says co-owner of Prime Fund group Jan Svoboda.
The objectives of the Prime Fund are clear: To expand with the updated solution first to European markets and then to America. Last year, the company developed a new platform and will now focus on growing its customer base.
The Prime Fund has already supported Foxdeli's entry into the Slovak and later German markets with tens of millions of crowns. The rest of Western Europe should join this year. 2024 is expected to be the year of oceanic expansion.
“The US market is crucial for Foxdeli and I am confident it will succeed in it,” comments Jan Svoboda and adds an answer to the question of what should come next. “At the moment, we want to take advantage of our dominant investor position and finance our global expansion. When the company is evaluated in an interesting way, we will decide whether to go into a complete exit or whether to establish cooperation with one of the foreign investors.” presents possible scenarios.
At the time the contract was negotiated between LHV and Prime Fund, Foxdeli's valuation was around CZK 300 million. “I would like to thank both companies. Their support has been key to achieving current results and preparing the company for expansion into foreign markets,” presented by Martin Jareš, CEO
and founder of Foxdeli.
“Now we already have as the only investment partner the Prime Fund, with which we have a clear strategy. Maximum concentration on the market and customer, dynamic foreign expansion and emphasis on revenue. We have a lot of work to do, but we are already looking forward to introducing our platform to thousands of foreign clients and moving to the international level.” Martin Jareš, CEO and founder of Foxdeli, says to strengthen Prime Fund's position.