INTERNET GIANTS LAUNCH KEYNOIR A NEW EXCLUSIVE GROUP BUYING BRAND

Power of social networking to bring aspirational lifestyle within easy reach Launching today, Keynoir.com (http://www.keynoir.com), a new partnership of internet heavyweights, will take advantage of the surge in social networking and empower people to group together via their networks and act as bulk-purchasers in order to secure offers on lifestyle experiences. The new company is the creation of Philip Wilkinson, Kelkoo director and pioneer of the first online price comparison site in the UK, Glen Drury, former CEO of Kelkoo and VP, Yahoo! Europe and Jan Riem, a technology corporate financier. Launch offers have been secured at 2 star Michelin restaurant Tom Aikens, The Supper Club, world polo at the Hurlingham Club, dress shirts from King and Allen and an event on The Yacht, London. It has secured a first institutional funding of £ 1.3m from top venture capital firms Index Ventures and PROfounders Capital, the entrepreneurial venture capital firm backed by Brent Hoberman from Lastminute.com, Michael Birch from Bebo, and others. In addition, serial entrepreneurs Paul Birch and Andrej Henkler participated in the investment. Dominique Vidal from Index Ventures and Sean Seton-Rogers from PROfounders Capital will be joining the board of Keynoir. The members-only buying club will use the funds to expand aggressively across the rest of the UK and Europe by the end of the year promoting offers to users, encouraging them to enjoy an aspirational lifestyle that, thanks to Keynoir, they will now be able to afford. “Our members will be offered a great experience every day and become part of a wave of people able to ‘upgrade’ their whole lifestyle" said co-founder, Philip Wilkinson. “People are becoming increasing weary and cynical of the whole discount marketplace and are looking for something more fulfilling. We’re preparing to change this culture by bringing truly desirable experiences within easy reach - it’s like we’re giving hard working professionals the opportunity to eat chocolate, but without the guilt.” The company is targeting 23 – 35 year old professionals and is creating purchasing deals with major-players across the travel, food, retail and entertainment sectors. It has a strict selection process choosing only those companies that meet its quality criteria. The tightly targeted nature of this approach offers a brand new route to market for retailers; peer-to-peer action allows companies the opportunity to fill capacity in the downturn and grow their businesses, without heavy advertising costs. “As purchasers pledge their interest up front, it gives businesses a great way to acquire new customers and only pay on results. Thanks to the attractiveness of the model, we’ve already lined up deals at some of the most compelling venues in London and we’re still on the lookout to add more businesses to our portfolio,” co-founder, Glen Drury added. Brent Hoberman underscores the impact of Keynoir’s innovative ‘social purchasing model’: “This is an exciting phase in the internet’s development. In the last decade, shopping has been all about search - this decade, Keynoir will lead a new generation of social buying which will effectively connect the offline and online worlds.” Promotion through the blogosphere and social media networks has already given exclusive membership to a select group of buyers and this will be expanded upon launch. “This is one of those rare occasions where the company, partners involved and the final consumer all benefit extensively from one service,” Brent concluded. -Ends-

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