Private equity group Fidelity invests £3.5m in Wahanda

Venture capitalist company Fidelity Growth Partners (FGP) has invested £3.5m in online health and beauty marketplace Wahanda, leading to Davor Hebel, a partner at FGP, joining the board of Wahanda.

Wahanda co-founder Lopo Champalimaud said the funding will be used to accelerate the company's growth both in the UK and overseas.

"Our vision is to do for health, beauty and wellness what Amazon did for books," he said.

"We've created an online destination where people can find, discover, share and book anything they want to do with health, beauty and wellness.

"We're thrilled to partner with Fidelity Growth Partners Europe and we are looking forward to the passion and experience Davor will bring to our board."

Wahanda was founded in 2008 by Champalimaud - formerly with lastminute.com - and Salim Mitha, a former general manager at internet giant Yahoo!

The company also boasts a number of entrepreneur backers, including Brent Hoberman, founder of lastminute.com; Stefan Glaenzer, former executive chair of last.fm and founder of Passion Capital; Ambient Sound Investment (ASI), founding engineers at Skype; and Wolf Hengst, the former chief operating officer and president of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

Wahanda offers an interactive community allowing customers to voice recommendations, write reviews and connect with industry experts.

It also offers savings on spa breaks with real-time booking functionality, thousands of health, beauty and fitness offers, daily MobDeals plus a gift voucher scheme redeemable at more than 900 destinations nationwide.