LeatherXchange secures E7.5m

Online service provider for the leather industry, LeatherXchange, has secured E7.5 million in second round funding, which it said it will use to expand its market position.

All of the investors from the first round, which was valued at E11.5 million and completed in October 2000, joined in the second round for the Barcelona-based company. They were lead investor Glide IT, Amadeus Capital Partners, CRI (Santander Central Hispano) and Latin Rim. Logispring, owned by TPG of the Netherlands and management consultant Booz-Allen & Hamilton, joined the round.

Hitesh Mehta, director at Amadeus Capital Partners, said: “In the current difficult economic environment, LeatherXchange is one of the few exceptional young businesses to secure significant financing.”

Founded in 1999, LeatherXchange has raised E20 million to date. It has a physical presence in 12 countries and around 500 customers in 40 countries. It acts as an online exchange for a number of different businesses in the leather industry.