Business travel platform TravelPerk has raised $160 million in Series D equity and debt funding to fuel the next phase of its growth in the US and Europe.

It said the move represents “a huge vote of confidence” from investors in the future of a thriving new normal for the business travel industry.

The round was led by Greyhound Capital, with participation from existing investors, and brings the total investment raised to date to $294 million.

TravelPerk is also recruiting and aims to rapidly grow its 500-strong team as the travel market grows through late 2021 and 2022.

“There will always be a need for business travel. But the events of the last year have fundamentally changed businesses’ expectations and preferences”, said Avi Meir, CEO and co-founder.

“Over the last 12 months, we’ve been constantly innovating to address the changing needs for travellers navigating the complex travel environment during Covid and we’ve kept growing as a company during one of the worst crises the industry has ever seen, doubling our travel budget under management in this period. 

“We are very confident in the return of business travel this year, and this investment will allow us to accelerate our ambitious growth plan in crucial markets like the US and Europe and deliver on travellers’ changing priorities as safety, sustainability and greater flexibility become essential requirements for all travel.”

The fundraising comes after TravelPerk acquired risk management start-up Albatross last year and US-based rival NexTravel in January 2021.

“There is no doubt that from 2021 onwards the average business trip will look very different to how it did in 2019,” said Pogos Saiadian, investor at Greyhound Capital.

“We are confident that business travel will recover and thrive in the years ahead.”