E-commerce venture OnBuy seeks second round of funding

UK-based online marketplace OnBuy.com is on the look out for new investors.

The venture, which previously raised £2.7million to launch its platform, is after a top-up of £500,000 to develop its offering, become profitable and fuel its growth. And it plans to raise again in 2020 for £15 million.

Plans include integration with external partners to deliver innovative services, expanding the geographical reach of the platform, and increasing sales for sellers using on and offline marketing. Additional funding would also support the introduction of new services, buying incentives, and expansion into new online territories.

OnBuy is looking to launch into 140 major countries within the two years. It says that it is currently at £12 million gross market value (GMV) and is seeing growth at nearly 20% per month. It expects to exceed £150 million GMV within three years, by 2022.

The company is pursuing “innovative data and SEO techniques to boost success for the businesses which use the platform”. OnBuy also has plans to build profiles on the brands featured on the site and improve their catalogue system for an enhanced user experience, as well as launch a mobile app.

Cas Paton, OnBuy Founder and MD, says: “Since launching in 2016, we have seen phenomenal growth. We are changing how the world looks at e-commerce. Over the next three years, we expect our strategic growth plans to help us become a global top 10 marketplace. Our principles of being fair with sellers, so that sellers can offer more for buyers, have proven successful. We have found a gap in the market for online retailers by offering a fair and professional platform that does not compete with its sellers.”

He adds: “Within our plans sits the launch of an OnBuy Fulfilment Network, allowing partner companies to connect with us to create the most powerful fulfilment opportunity in the UK. Operating the business more efficiently than our competitors has enabled us to grow so significantly with previous funding and to forecast profit with such modest investment this time around.”