London-based Fresha has raised an $80 million growth round from KKR, laying claim to a valuation of more than $1 billion and taking its total funding to $285 million.
Founded in 2015 by William Zeqiri and Nicholas Miller, Fresha began as a scheduling tool for salons and spas before expanding into payments, marketplace bookings, POS, marketing, inventory and financial services.
The company now claims to serve around 130,000 beauty and wellness businesses across 120 countries, supporting more than 500,000 professionals and processing over 35 million appointments a month. Fresha says it is profitable, with a revenue run-rate of more than $140 million and annual growth above 60%.
The new money will go into international expansion — especially North America, continental Europe and Southeast Asia — and into AI products, including tools to automate bookings, customer interactions and local discovery for merchants.
The Pathfounders take:
Fresha has built significant scale with a single platform in a fragmented market (salons, barbers, spas, aesthetics clinics and wellness studios).
It also doesn’t rely only on subscription fees, but monetises through payments, marketplace commissions, financial services and newer paid software plans. That keeps the barrier to entry low for small merchants. KKR was likely attracted to the idea that Fresh can become a full-blown financial and operating layer for these small beauty and wellness businesses.
It’s also employing a lot of AI, answering calls, taking bookings, moving appointments, and handling payments through AI search and voice assistants. That means small businesses can hire fewer staff.
