Hospitality temp staff app wins £2.65m in seed funding

An online recruitment platform for temporary workers in hospitality, backed by investors including boxer David Haye, has raised £2.65m in seed funding.

The app, Syft, won the funding from Profounders Capital.

Launched in November 2015, it is also backed by angels such as Lord Young and David Haye.

It offers employers access to vetted and rated temporary staff via the app. The app claims to save 55% on standard temp agency fees, and the average hourly rate paid to staff on the app is £9.25.

Co-founder Novo Abakare said: "The size of the seed round is a great indication not only of the size of our addressable market, but also of what the team at Syft have been able to achieve in such a short space of time. More important than the size of the round for us, however, was getting the right mix of investors.

"Venture Capital money from Profounders, along with founders from Bebo, Gamesys, Velocity, CloudVolumes and David Cameron's ex advisor for SMEs in Lord Young we feel very fortunate at such an early stage to have an amazing group. Each one of them adds significant value. A large amount of this round will continue to go towards ongoing development of the platform as we look to expand across London."

Haye, former Two Weight World Champion boxer added: "Supporting British entrepreneurs is really important to me, especially those who are the driving force behind tech and growth-focused businesses. I not only invested in Syft's vision, but I also recognised the company's work ethic and dedication to success."

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