AI startup Fresha raises £59.6m backed by KKR
This article covers Fresha, an AI startup, which has raised £59.6m in a growth funding round that values the startup at more than £744.9m. The funding will be used to accelerate international expansion and deepen its AI-led product roadmap, supporting salons, spas and other small service businesses in the beauty and wellness sector.
Fresha, an AI startup, has raised £59.6m in a growth funding round that values the company at more than £744.9m. The London-founded booking and business-management platform for the beauty and wellness sector says it will use the capital to accelerate international expansion and deepen its AI-led product roadmap.
Why it matters
The round pushes Fresha into the unicorn club at a time when vertical software that embeds marketplace, payments and automation is attracting increasing investor attention. Fresha reports profitability, a revenue run-rate of about £104.3m, more than 130,000 business customers and 35 million appointments per month. Those scale and unit-economics figures matter because they suggest the business is already producing cash flows while still growing at north of 60% year-on-year.
For operators in salons, spas and related services, the platform’s combination of scheduling, point of sale, payments and marketplace distribution aims to replace multiple niche tools. The deal underscores demand for specialised, AI-enabled systems that act as operational backbones for small service businesses.
Inside the product
Fresha combines booking software, payments and a customer-facing marketplace. The company says it facilitates roughly £11.2bn in annual gross merchandise value and serves verticals including hair, barbering, nails, aesthetics, wellness, fitness and spa.
Independent research cited in the announcement claims Fresha ranks highly on software quality, ease of use and marketplace strength, and reports customer outcomes such as 15–50% increases in appointment volumes, around 15% higher add-on attach rates, and headcount cost savings up to 25%. The firm also highlights high retention metrics: most customers reported they would not switch platforms over the next three years.
Product priorities called out for the new funding include AI-driven booking automation, marketing intelligence, accounting integrations, workforce management and customer engagement features that customers are reportedly willing to pay for.
Who are the investors?
The primary investor named in the announcement is funds managed by KKR. The deal follows more than a year of due diligence, during which Fresha and the investor group surveyed operators across the US, UK, Ireland, EU and Australia and carried out expert interviews. Fresha has now raised approximately £212.3m in total.
In the announcement, Patrick Devine, Partner and member of KKR’s Tech Growth team, said:
Fresha has built a differentiated platform, combining software, financial services, and marketplace capabilities with embedded AI, in a way that is deeply integrated into daily operations of beauty and wellness businesses. We believe the company is well-positioned to continue scaling globally as demand grows for modern, vertical-specific technology solutions.
In the announcement, Marta Szczerba, Director in KKR’s Tech Growth team, said:
We have followed William and the broader management team over the years, and have been highly impressed with the consistent performance they have been driving at Fresha. The team have been on the front foot in implementing AI in a way that drives meaningful business outcomes, and we are thrilled to be embarking with them on the next chapter of Fresha’s journey.
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Founder perspective
Founders William Zeqiri (CEO) and Nick Miller (Co-founder and Chief Product Officer) characterise the round as validation of the product’s position with service businesses and as a means to accelerate global expansion and AI investment. The company points to strong adoption in the UK and Ireland, about 45% market share in Australasia, and growing footprints in North America, continental Europe, South East Asia, Africa and the GCC.
The team frames Fresha as an operating system for selfcare businesses: a single platform intended to reduce operational friction and open new monetisation for partners through automation and marketplace demand.
The bigger picture
Fresha’s raise and valuation are part of a broader trend in Europe and the UK where institutional capital is increasingly writing larger checks into later-stage vertical SaaS and marketplace businesses that combine software and payments. The focus on embedded AI reflects wider investor expectations that machine-led automation will be a primary driver of value in customer-facing services.
For the UK ecosystem, the deal is notable for a profitable, product-led company achieving a substantial valuation without the breakneck burn rates seen in some growth stories. It also signals that established global investment firms continue to view UK-founded startups as viable anchors for international category plays.
The outcome will be watched by operators and investors across Europe as an example of how profitability, product-market fit in a defined vertical and an AI roadmap can be packaged to attract sizeable growth capital.
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