London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, May 09, 2025

Trainline rival Seatfrog books £6m raise for next leg of journey

Trainline rival Seatfrog books £6m raise for next leg of journey

Launched in 2018, Seatfrog will announce on Tuesday that it has secured funds from investors including Pembroke and Octopus Ventures.

A rail ticketing app set up by a pair of entrepreneurs frustrated by the lack of legroom in standard-class carriages will this announce a multimillion pound fundraising backed by a syndicate of blue-chip investors.

Sky News understands that Seatfrog, a privately owned rival to the London-listed company Trainline, has secured £6m in new backing from shareholders including Pembroke, a venture capital firm which has backed successful UK companies including the fashion brand Me + Em and Five Guys, the burger chain.

Octopus Ventures and Praetura are also participating in the funding round, which is expected to be announced publicly on Tuesday.

It was unclear at what valuation the new capital had been raised.

Seatfrog, which says it achieved revenue growth of over 800% last year, was launched in 2018 by chief executive Iain Griffin and Dirk Stewart.

Its initial target was to address the 570m first-class seats remain empty on British rail journeys every year.

Since launching, it claims to have saved passengers more than £43m by helping them to upgrade or switch trains.

There has been persistent unhappiness for many years among consumers about the cost and complexity of British rail fares, with operators in the privatised industry routinely accused of gouging passengers and offering poor reliability and service.

Seatfrog's co-founders Dirk Stewart (l) and Iain Griffin launched the company


Seatfrog says its technology benefits consumers, but also train operators by helping them to grow revenues from higher-value seats.

It has struck partnerships with 16 train operators covering more than 3bn journeys across the UK and Europe annually.

The company's most recent alliance has been with the Italian operator Trenitalia.

"Our mission is to be the platform of choice for rail, helping people fall in love with taking the train again, and enabling operators to run more profitable networks full of happier, less stressed passengers - it's long overdue," Mr Griffin said.

"With the launch of our Train Swap feature across the UK and our expansion into new European markets, we are unleashing a new platform that helps passengers get an unrivalled experience and operators run more efficient networks well beyond the capabilities of legacy technology."

Fred Ursell, investment director at Pembroke Investment Managers, said the lack of innovation in the rail sector was among the key factors in British customer dissatisfaction and hailed Seatfrog's "disruptive business model, product market fit and large market combined with a world-class team".

Rival app Trainline listed in London in 2019, having been owned by a number of private equity firms.

It now has a market value of close to £1.2bn.

finnCap advised Seatfrog on the funding round.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Historic Papal Conclave Set to Commence in Rome
Huge Copper, Gold, and Silver Discovery in Argentina and Chile — But the Profits Go Abroad
Prince Harry is pleading for reconciliation — but the royals are just as sick of his victimhood as everyone else
The Road to Freedom: She Protested Putin, Escaped House Arrest, and Survived a 2,800-Kilometer Journey
OpenAI's Flip-Flop: No Longer Going Commercial, Back to Nonprofit, After Musk Lawsuit and Backlash
“Trump Supporter” Aims to Bring a MAGA-Style Shift to Romania
First From China: Zhao Xintong Wins the Snooker World Championship
Nvidia Faces Billion-Dollar Losses – Warns: China Is on Its Way to Becoming an AI Superpower
Trump Rules Out Third Term, Names JD Vance and Marco Rubio as Potential Successors
Mexico Says ‘No’ to U.S. Troops: President Sheinbaum Rejects Trump’s Offer to Fight Cartels
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Storms the Map, Wrecking the Two-Party Monopoly
DOGE: Reimagining Government Operations with AI
Common Sense Returns to Britain's Legal System: UK Supreme Court Declares a Woman Is… a Woman
Beijing Says U.S. Is ‘Reaching Out’ for Tariff Talks Amid Soaring Trade Tensions
U.K. Court Rejects Prince Harry’s Final Appeal Over Police Security
Prince Harry’s Heartfelt Outburst Rocks the Royal Family
Trump Shares AI-Generated Image of Himself as… Pope, Prompting Outrage Reaction
Transgender Swimmer Secures Five Gold Medals at U.S. Masters Championship
Prince Harry: “I Want Reconciliation with My Family”
Germany's Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party has now been officially labeled “right-wing extremist” by the federal office for the so-called “protection of the constitution.”
Amazon Launches Satellite Internet Service Amidst Competition with SpaceX
Transformative Changes in Women's Wrestling: The Rise of WWE Superstars
The Rush to the White Gold: Global Investment Surge in Natural Hydrogen Exploration
This is a day in Spain without electricity and internet
Reform UK Surprises in British Elections, Challenging Traditional Two-Party System
180-Year-Old Christian University in South Carolina Announces Closure Due to Unmet $6 Million Fundraising Goal
Brazilian Woman Jailed for Fourteen Years for Writing “You Lost, Idiot” on Statue During Protest
Trump Administration Removes National Security Adviser Mike Waltz Amid Signal Chat Controversy
Dutch Politician Eva Vlaardingerbroek Receives Spyware Threat Alert from Apple
Paramount Board Considers Settlement in Trump’s $20 Billion Lawsuit Over "60 Minutes" Interview
U.S. Economy Shrink in Trump’s First Quarter as Tariff Policy Raises Questions
Deadline Looms for RTS Meter Replacement: Hundreds of Thousands at Risk of Heating Disruption
Sweden Grapples with Deadly Gun Violence: Suspect Arrested After Three Young Men Killed in Uppsala Hair Salon
Walz Reveals Why Harris Chose Him as Her Running Mate and Reflects on Democratic Losses
Spain Restores Power After Unprecedented Nationwide Blackout
Carney Secures Liberal Mandate in Canada’s Federal Election
Death Penalty Sought as Luigi Manion Pleads Not Guilty in CEO Murder Case
President Trump contacts Jeff Bezos after reports of Amazon considering listing tariff surcharges; company clarifies no such plan for main platform
Spain and Portugal Recover from Massive Blackout
Liverpool Clinches Record-Equalling 20th English League Title Under Arne Slot
Singapore Politicians Warn Against Foreign Interference in Election
Driver Ploughs into Vancouver Festival Crowd, Killing Nine
Depression, Fear of Defamation, and a Tragic End: New Details on Virginia Giuffre’s Suicide
“Sharia for UK, Allah Akbar!”
Massive Explosion at Iran's Bandar Abbas Port Linked to Suspicious Chemical Shipments
Incident Reflection: A Harsh Reality Check
Pakistani migrants to Danish man: “ “We have 5 children while you have 1 or 2. In 10 years, there will be more Pakistanis than Danes here.“
Clashes Erupt in London as Tensions Rise Between Indian and Pakistani Communities
Specialized anti-drone weapons deployed among security personnel Ahead of Papal Funeral
How do you fix this culture?
×