Philippine foodtech startup BigDish raises $2.3m in London IPO

Photo by Quentin Dr on Unsplash

By Mars W. Mosqueda Jr.

August 7, 2018

Manila-based online restaurant reservation startup BigDish has raised £1.8 million ($2.3 million) in its listing on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) ahead of a planned expansion in the UK.

The company admitted 49.4 million shares at 4.5 pence each, valuing BigDish at $16.70 million. Joost Boer, Co-Founder & CEO, told DEALSTREETASIA the amount raised was within the company’s target.

BigDish will use the proceeds of the listing towards increasing its brand presence, growing its business development team and completing the acquisition of TablePouncer, a UK-based restaurant reservation firm.

Founded in April 2013, BigDish is a yield management platform for the restaurant industry. The platform allows restaurants to boost their sales by offering a variable pricing strategy dependent on the time of day that a restaurant reservation is made for.

“The airline and hotel industry have been utilizing yield management for years and the restaurant industry is now starting to see the benefits of filling up empty tables at off-peak times,” Boer said in an online interaction.

Boer said BigDish, which operates in the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Indonesia, had decided to list on the LSE, instead of the Philippine Stock Exchange or the Hong Kong Exchange, because its chairman, Aidan Bishop, is from the UK.

Bishop has also already taken a company public on the LSE before, which means he understood the process of listing there, Boer added.

“Foodtech is a hot space – this is evident from the sheer amount of capital that food delivery companies have raised over the last years. However, online restaurant reservations is a branch of foodtech which has also seen massive success over the years. And the interesting thing is that when it comes down to online reservations, the Asian market is still wide open,” Boer said.

In the Philippines, the technology sector is booming and BigDish expects this trend to continue.

“As a Philippine-grown startup, the company hopes that it will be an inspiration to aspiring Filipino tech entrepreneurs that Philippine grown business can achieve global ambitions,” he said.

Also Read:

Singapore: Online restaurant booking service Chope raises $13m

SE Asia to embrace agritech first, foodtech later, says Sirius Venture’s Eugene Wong

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In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).   

  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
  • A journalist to track special situations funds, distressed debt and private credit (from the PE angle) across Asia.
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