- TouchBistro announced it raised CAN$158 million in Series E funding, which was led by OMERS Growth
TouchBistro announced it raised CAN$158 million in Series E funding. This round of funding was led by OMERS Growth Equity with participation from Barclays Bank, RBC Ventures, BMO Capital Partners, and existing investors including OMERS Ventures, JPMorgan Chase, Napier Park Financial Partners, BDC IT Venture Fund, and Kensington Capital Partners.
This funding round will be used by TouchBistro to acquire complementary products that broaden the company’s capabilities, support the development of technology advancements, expand its presence in international markets, and increase the size of its team over the next year.
Now there are more than 16,000 restaurants in over 100 countries that use the TouchBistro iPad POS and payments solution. And TouchBistro is used to help restaurants drive top line revenue growth, improve operational efficiency, and make better decisions through software automation, predictive data insights, and seamless access to financial services.
“The global restaurant industry is undergoing a technology renaissance, and TouchBistro is leading the way in driving the industry forward,” says Alex Barrotti, the CEO and founder of TouchBistro. “We have teamed up with some of the largest financial institutions in key markets around the world to provide our customers with enriched payment services and easier access to financial services. We are proud of these strong partnerships and plan to build on this model as we expand our global footprint.”
TouchBistro was built from the ground up to work at the heart of a restaurant’s operations and the company processes more than $11 billion annually and is used to streamline and simplify all aspects of running a restaurant ranging from order taking, payment processing, menu management, accounting, reporting, inventory management, staff scheduling, and customer loyalty.
Earlier this year, TouchBistro announced partnerships with Barclaycard in the UK and EVO Payments in Mexico to provide integrated payment solutions that streamline processes for restaurants, drive operational efficiency, and reduce human errors associated with the bill-paying process. And last year, TouchBistro announced TouchBistro Payments powered by WePay (a JPMorgan Chase company) for streamlining payment processing for restaurants in the US.
“We were impressed by the scalability of the business and the vision of the founding team to drive and build a larger business around the evolving restaurant and dining space,” commented Kester Keating, the Head of US Investments at Barclays.
OMERS Growth Equity is known for investing in high-growth companies backed by exceptional teams. And these growth opportunities could include scaling operations, making acquisitions, expanding product lines, or entering new markets. As part of this deal, OMERS Growth Equity Managing Director and Head Mark Shulgan will join the TouchBistro Board of Directors.
“We invest in companies that we believe can grow to be the leaders in their sector. We are also passionate about growth, innovation, and making tomorrow better, three key areas that align with Alex Barrotti’s vision for TouchBistro,” explained Shulgan. “Alex and his team have built a high-growth and durable global software business that has led the restaurant industry’s platform shift from legacy POS to mobile and cloud.”
“Last year we led TouchBistro’s Series D round. Since then, the company has exceeded our performance expectations and we are increasing our commitment by investing in this funding round,” noted Damien Steel, the Managing Partner and Head of OMERS Ventures. “We invest in and partner with the best and brightest entrepreneurs in tech to build a prosperous future. Alex Barrotti and TouchBistro have proven to be a perfect fit in our portfolio.”
Barclaycard — working in partnership with Barclays Principal Investments — had participated in this funding round.
“We recently teamed up with TouchBistro to provide integrated payments to restaurants and pubs in the UK. Through this partnership we anticipate expanded commercial opportunities and distribution across Europe, and improved access to financial services for the restaurant market,” added Rob Cameron, the CEO of Global Payments Acceptance at Barclays. “Our equity investment reaffirms our commitment to working with TouchBistro and our belief that the company is very well positioned to capture the opportunities that lie ahead.”
TouchBistro has offices in Toronto, New York, Austin, Chicago, London, and Mexico City.
