Perkbox pockets £6.6m in latest cash injection

Perkbox, the employee perks start-up, has raised another chunk of cash, nine months after its previous funding round.

The $8.6 million (£6.6 million) injection into the London-based company, which allows customers to reward staff with perks and discounts, comes from venture capital firm Draper Esprit, an early backer of LoveFilm.

It invested £2.5 million in October last year on the same terms as those who backed the company on crowdfunding site Seedrs.

Saurav Chopra, Perkbox’s chief executive and co-founder, said the latest funding would help it expand overseas.

“The need for employee engagement is global and progressive countries and employers understand their most important assets are their people. There’s a lot to do outside the UK,” he said.

Perkbox’s customers include British Gas and Worldpay.

He said the company expects to generate £30 million in revenues this year, double what it made last year, adding that the squeeze on wages had led more businesses to consider its services.

“Helping them stretch their salaries further is a lot more cost effective than giving a salary raise,” Chopra said.