London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 11, 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
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
×