Credit: Original article can be found here
New Zealand’s First Table, the popular restaurant
discovery platform, is excited to announce they are live
with their first capital raise via Snowball
Effect.
Since its launch in 2014, First Table has
become a leading player in the restaurant reservation
industry. Its innovative business model allows users to book
the first table of the evening at partner restaurants with
50% off the food bill.
The platform has since grown to
become a trusted restaurant discovery platform with over
1,400 restaurant partners across New Zealand, Australia,
Ireland, Indonesia, Canada and the UK and is on track to
generate over $2.2 million in revenue in 2022/23 across
240,000 bookings. Booking numbers in established cities are
now well ahead of pre-covid levels.
With a pre-money
valuation of $18 million, First Table is in the process of
securing wholesale investment and is now looking to raise up
to $4 million from both wholesale and retail
investors.
Over the next three years, First Table
estimates potential revenue growth of $8 million from
existing cities, $2 million from new cities and a potential
$10 million from its new product Regular
Table.
Regular Table allows diners to make regular
bookings for the whole evening on the First Table platform,
without the First Table offer. This solves the issue of the
time-consuming restaurant booking process in New Zealand
where many booking websites only display live availability
for some restaurants through a single reservation
system.
First Table is the only restaurant platform
that has integrated with seven restaurant reservation
systems, enabling direct placement of regular bookings into
these systems. The next phase is for the proprietary First
Table engine to search multiple reservation systems
simultaneously and display real-time availability with a map
view.
Gross margins are already in excess of 60% in
their more developed cities, and even factoring in a
significant increase in sales and marketing, the company
expects to be generating $23 million in revenue in
FY26.
Investors will be able to take advantage of
First Table’s innovative business model and the growth
potential of its hospitality technology. The investment will
support the company’s rollout of Regular Table, expansion
into new markets, development of new features and tools for
restaurant partners, and further enhancement of the user
experience.
First Table boasts a large user base,
extensive restaurant footprint, and a unified API into the
major reservation systems, making it a leading player in the
restaurant reservation space. With its proven success in New
Zealand, First Table is now accelerating its global
expansion and seeking investment to support its growth
strategy.
Investment is now open on Snowball
Effect’s
website.