restaurant payment app founded by the team behind Shoreditch destination Gloria has raised $100 million to fuel global expansion just five months after launching.
Sunday – which lets you scan a QR code, split the bill with friends and tip with quick clicks – has netted over a million unique users and signed up over 1,500 venues.
Restaurants signed up so far range from chains to Michelin-starred eateries. The app is founded by and made for restaurateurs, and investors include Jeremy King of London’s Corbin & King empire.
The app says it will help restaurants struggling with the ongoing hospitality staffing crisis, as it gives a 10% faster table turnover on average, and encourages higher tipping.
Big Mamma restaurant group founders Victor Lugger and Tigrane Seydoux and Zalando’s Christine de Wendel raised €24 million (£17 million) in seed funding in April to fuel a rollout as venues across Europe reopened from lockdown.
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What parents and children can expect of the new school yearSunday announced on Wednesday that it has now secured over $100 million in equity funding in a Series A raise led by Coatue and DST Global. Investors also included New Wave, the VC firm backed by French telecoms billionaire, Xavier Niel.
The app is operational across the UK, France, Spain and in parts of the US and Canada. Sunday has expanded from a headcount of four to 170 – new hires include former Deliveroo growth manager, Elisabeth Osmont d’Amilly, as UK general manager – and founders now plan to use the cash to double headcount again in the next year.
New funds will also be used to fuel expansion in Europe and North America. Lugger and his team are now on a mission to take the app across the hospitality and leisure sectors, and say they have a $7.5 trillion addressable market. They aim to sign 15,000 restaurants by the end of 2022 and are looking to explore acquisitions.
de Wendel, who is heading up the start-up’s US operations, labelled the round a “remarkable opportunity” to build a tech stack and new product offerings.
She said: “It also allows us to accelerate in the US market by growing our Sales, Operations and Partnerships teams. We are now in a very good position to hire top talent to drive the speed and stellar execution needed to succeed.”
Coatue founder, Philippe Laffont, said: “Digital payment solutions are enhancing the customer experience across the board. We believe that sunday is well positioned to drive this change in the large hospitality sector.”
Lugger previously told the Standard: “We want to save 15 minutes of time for hundreds of millions of people across the world, whether that is in a restaurant or tomorrow in a hotel when you check out.”
