FinTech start-up Leslie has officially launched following a multi-million pound seed round with investment funding from KKR co-founder Henry Kravis, Middleby Corporation, supplier of more than 90% of the largest food service chains across the US, and Australian BNPL founder Larry Diamond, of ZIP.
Within just six weeks, Leslie has revolutionised the hospitality industry across the UK, by offering customers a simplified and more efficient way to order, tip and pay. The technology, accessible to the end-user via a QR code, with no app download required, delivers a seamless customer experience and checkout process, enabling customers to pay via their smartphone instantly.
Leslie will use this seed funding to continue its growth in the UK and fuel rapid expansion across the globe.
Chris Jones, European President of Middleby Corporation, says: “The hospitality industry is suffering with staff shortages due to people venturing into new careers as a symptom of Covid. People lost their jobs in the pandemic and have been pushed in new directions. With our exclusive partnership between Leslie and Middleby we are at the forefront of innovation and will offer our client base a solution like no-other to aid and enhance the customer experience and increase revenues.”
Larry Diamond, Founder of Zip, says: “Leslie has taken the opportunity to bridge the last mile of payments for venues and customers globally. Finding such dynamic founders early on in a start-up journey is very rare and I am proud to be part of the journey.”
Founded by entrepreneurs Joey Barnett and Dovi David during the pandemic, Leslie has already recruited an impressive staff complement, including senior hires from the likes of Deliveroo, Just Eat, Apple, Mastercard and Amazon.
“One of the industries that hasn’t undergone any drastic transformation is hospitality and there are so many missed opportunities that tech is poised to capitalise on. Not just here in the UK where we’ve already secured 100s of venues since launch, but the US and wider markets as well,” says Leslie co-founder Joey Barnett.
“The combination of our tech, our growing team and now this strategic investment, ensures that we can take on the global hospitality market.”
Leslie, named after Barnett’s grandfather who inspired his entrepreneurial mindset, allows any food and beverage service provider to set up their menus in a matter of minutes, increase their revenue and reduce costs.