Online consultants marketplace Comatch raises €8 million in Series B round
As independent consulting continues to go from strength to strength across Europe, COMATCH, a platform which matches independent consultants with clients and projects, has expanded across the continent. In order to fuel the rapidly growing startup’s future growth ambitions, the group has completed a Series B round of fundraising, bringing in some €8 million to invest in its plans.
The international marketplace for independent top management consultants and industry experts has been booming in recent months. The market for independent management consultants is currently valued at around £2 billion in the UK alone, with almost one-fifth of all work delivered by consultants in the country coming from independents.
This prompted COMATCH to launch in Britain in 2018, having already branched out from its largest market of Germany and the DACH region, into Holland where it is a market leader, and the Nordics where the group is performing strongly. Having also ventured into the French market recently, COMATCH has been seeking funds to support its future growth ambitions.
To that end, the independent consultant match-making platform, which boasts a network of over 4,800 profiles from over 60 countries, has successfully concluded a Series B round of financing. Last year, Series B financing attracted a global median of €4.7 million. Over the next 12 months, early stage VC is projected to see investments increase by a further $3 million to hit a median $7.7 million, staying ahead of Angel / Seed investment, which is expected to see a $300,000 apiece increase to a median $1.3 million. Tapping into this projected rise, COMATCH saw Acton Capital Partners once more lead the financing round of the startup. In total, the effort raised €8 million to be invested by Acton, Atlantic Labs and btov – the same groups which invested €4 million in COMATCH in the summer of 2016.
The capital from this round is ring-fenced for the expansion of the company’s position as market leader in the DACH countries while enabling COMATCH to assume a leading role at the European level. This will include targeted investment in further technological development to boost the group’s existing matching-model, with the end goal being for it to become faster and more precise. Currently, clients receive suggested candidates within 48 hours, however COMATCH is aiming for a more rapid turnaround, while the platform will also facilitated the purchase research activities and to put together teams of consultants, and in the future consultants from COMATCH’s network who would like to return to a permanent position will also receive support.
Co-founder Christoph Hardt, who forged the startup with Jan Schächtele at the end of 2014, said of the news, “We are happy that we are taking these next steps with our existing investors, and that this excellent collaboration will continue. Together with the investors, the entire COMATCH team has achieved a great deal over the past few years. In this respect, the significant increase in investment not only expresses exceptional appreciation of our work, it is also essential in order to continue COMATCH’s growth and firmly establish the company throughout Europe as a partner for clients and consultants.”
Sebastian Wossagk, Managing Partner at Acton, added, “In the past three years COMATCH has become the leading marketplace for independent management consultants in Germany. The company’s strong revenue growth is especially driven by a large number of returning clients whose high level of satisfaction is not only a clear indication of the exceptional quality of COMATCH Services, but also the perfect foundation for further international expansion. I am happy that Acton, Atlantic and btov are able to continue supporting the success of the COMATCH team.”
