BDA advises Chope on growth capital raise

BDA Partners is pleased to announce that its client, Chope, one of Asia's largest dining discovery and reservations apps, has raised growth capital of SG$18m (US$13m). The investment was led by Square Peg Capital and joined by C31 Ventures and Moelis Australia, as well as existing shareholders including NSI Ventures, Susquehanna International Group, DSG Consumer Partners, and SPH Ventures.

Chope is the most widely-used restaurant booking system in Asia, with more than 3,000 F&B clients across Singapore, Hong Kong, mainland China, Indonesia, and Thailand using Chope's suite of technologies to manage bookings, queues, CRM, promotions, and pre-payments. The company is a pioneer in building easy-to-use applications for F&B and, in the six years since its founding in a tiny office in Singapore's Orchard Towers, has grown to become a market leader in the highly desirable online-to-offline (O2O) dining technology space.

The service has also proven to solve a daily problem for diners: 80% of its userbase habitually use the Chope app for discovery, reservations, discounts, and payments when dining out. The app is able to provide real-time information faster and more accurately because restaurants rely on Chope's table management system to keep track of their inventory of available tables. Despite being founded in Singapore, over 60% of Chope's restaurants are now in other cities, with its operations growing fastest in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Indonesia. The company is rapidly expanding its services to solve this O2O problem across Asia.

Tushar Roy, Partner at international venture capital firm Square Peg Capital, said, "We are impressed by Chope's success in capturing a leading position in Asia's most attractive, growing dining markets in the premium dining segment. Chope offers a compelling service to both restaurants and diners, and we are excited to contribute our expertise and capital to substantially expand the business."

Arrif Ziaudeen, CEO of Chope, said, "Chope looks forward to our next stage of growth with this new capital and strategic partnership. With these resources, we are positioned to invest significantly in our USPs of user experience and customer service, while deepening our reach into our markets across Asia."

Chope plans to use the growth funding to improve UX/user experience, enlist a larger salesforce, and enhance customer support. Chope will also invest heavily in continuous innovation to maintain its status as a leading pioneer in the fast-changing F&B industry.

BDA Deal Team
Paul DiGiacomo, Managing Director, Hong Kong
Jeff Acton, Head of Technology, Tokyo
Matthew Doull, Head of Digital Media, Hong Kong
Rica Wirianata, Director, Singapore
Jonathan Fein, Vice President, Singapore
Dao Le, Analyst, Ho Chi Minh City
Melvin Lim, Analyst, Singapore

About The Chope Group
The Chope Group is Asia's leading online restaurant reservations app, currently operating in eight cities (Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, Bangkok, Shanghai, Bali, Bandung, Jakarta). With a range of products that meet the needs of restaurateurs, Chope provides online booking channels, improves yield, and assists in efficiently tracking diners' preferences. Their mobile app (www.chope.co/app) and website (www.chope.co) help diners discover the best restaurants and make instant reservations 24 hours a day.

About BDA
BDA Partners is a leader in cross-border investment banking involving Asia. BDA advises on M&A and capital raising. BDA has been consistently owned and managed by the same team since 1996. BDA has a track record of providing independent advice to blue-chip corporate and financial sponsor clients from North America, Europe, and Asia. BDA is headquartered in New York with offices in London, Dubai, Mumbai, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, and Tokyo. BDA formed partnerships with William Blair & Company in 2011 and Development Bank of Japan in 2017. www.bdapartners.com

US securities transactions are performed by BDA Partners' affiliate, BDA Advisors Inc, a broker-dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). BDA Advisors Inc. is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and SIPC. In the UK, BDA Partners is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In Hong Kong, BDA Partners (HK) Ltd is licensed and regulated by the Securities & Futures Commission (SFC) to conduct Type 1 and Type 4 regulated activities to professional investors.