Seed27 June 2024

Heidi secures £5.6m in seed funding led by Mercia Ventures for platform expansion

The online ski tour operator has raised £5.6m from Mercia Ventures and Active Partners to support platform development and team growth.

£5.6MSeed

Heidi is a fast-growing online tour operator that provides flexible booking options for ski holidays.

Bristol-based ski holiday platform Heidi has secured £5.6m in a seed funding round led by Mercia Ventures, with additional participation from Active Partners and private backers. The capital will be directed towards enhancing the company technology platform, growing customer service operations, and creating over twenty new positions over the coming year. Founded in 2018 by brothers Marcus and Alexander Blunt, Heidi has scaled rapidly, reporting revenue of £37m for the 2024 financial year and carrying upwards of 34,000 passengers in its most recent season.

As part of the transaction, Mercia has appointed Sarah Doyle as Chair alongside Miles Hill and Michael Rivis as Non-executive Directors. The funding follows a period of significant commercial expansion for the business, which now ranks as the third largest ski holiday operator in the UK.

From the founder

"The launch of Heidi was borne out of our own frustrations as keen skiers who wanted to get away to the slopes but at a time and date to suit our own schedules. Having launched the company with limited investment and built it to its current size, we are now all set to take it to the next level. Our aim is to more than double in size in the next few years and become one of the top two ski travel operators."

Marcus Blunt

CEO at Heidi

Investor perspective

"With its unique approach to ski holiday bookings and in-house technology, Marcus and Alexander have found product-market fit in a large, poorly served market. Their impressive growth to date demonstrates Heidi’s ability to delight consumers with its truly flexible, best-in-class service and we’re excited to partner with them to reach many more mountain lovers in the UK and beyond."

Billy Fox

Early-stage Investor, Active Partners