Performance Horizon Takes on $15.4 Million to Double Staff Headcount

Marketing tech provider Performance Horizon has generated $15.4 million in a Series C investment round, accrued from a number of top-tier investors and individual shareholders.

Having secured a $10 million Series B round in Q4 2014, the latest cash injection puts total funding for the firm in excess of $35 million.

Performance Horizon was founded in 2010 by Malcolm Cowley and Paul Fellows, once of affiliate network buy.at, and is now spearheaded by a tracking platform allowing advertisers to take their affiliate marketing activity in-house.

The group’s CEO, Cowley said: “Enterprises are investing heavily in performance marketing technology as a way to efficiently increase their digital sales and maximize their marketing budgets.

“This financing allows us to invest even faster in this huge market opportunity and execute on the next phase of our vision.”

Rapid expansion

The ‘next phase’ for the firm will see it build out its sales and marketing teams globally, with plans to double its 100-strong headcount in the next year.

Performance Horizon claims to have onboarded several global 100 companies, spanning retail, financial and travel verticals in the last year.

These and its existing client roster are utilising the end-to-end marketing partner solution to drive some $3 billion in total top-line revenue, with additional access to tracking, reporting, global payment capabilities, supported by American Express.

Its recent achievements come down to providing a centralised solution for brands to manage all digital partnerships, with these traditionally “farmed out” to third party networks, according to the group.

This has allowed for brands and their agencies to engage with partners via “unprecedented granularity and speed”, adds Colin Greenspon, managing director of key investor Mithril.

‘Breakout company’

Performance Horizon has been swift to build a wide and global presence, boasting 160,000 partners and operations across 183 countries. Its growth on an international level was also a key driver behind this latest injection, according to Greenspon.

“Performance Horizon has demonstrated its digital marketing superiority by adding customers across all major geographies, including China and Japan.”

More praise from investors came from Greycroft Growth fund, whose partner, Ian Sigalow, referred to Performance Horizon as one of the “breakout” companies in its venture portfolio, asserting that it’s the “only provider” that can effectively serve global enterprises through a scalable SaaS solution.

Performance Horizon currently holds offices within the UK, US, Japan and Australia.