Travel firm secures cash from TV’s Dragons’ Den
A travel business specialising in festival and clubbing holidays for young people secured a £100,000 investment after appearing on the reality TV show Dragons’ Den.
Mainstage Travel founders Rob Tominey, 24, and Aden Levin, 25 received the offer from cloud computing and technology pioneer Piers Linney in return for a 15% stake in their business.
They also received offers of £100,000 from three of the four remaining Dragons, but Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones and Duncan Bannatyne all wanted a greater share of the business in return for the investment so Tominey and Levin chose Linney instead.
The pair, who organise clubbing holidays in the Mediterranean as well as the Snowboxx ski festival in Andorra, told the Dragons they had made a profit of £257,000 in their second year on a turnover of £1.6 million.
They projected turnover would rise to £3.5 million in year three, giving a profit of £500,000.
Mainstage has several brands, including Zante Takeover, Malia Takeover and Ayia Napa Takeover. It claims to sell clubbing packages from £119.99.
The pair will use the investment to launch a new ski festival brand as well as using the funds to develop their site.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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