London-based hand-picked holiday home booking startup The Plum Guide raises £14 million

British startup The Plum Guide, which supposedly features the top 1 percent of holiday homes in several cities around the world, has raised £14 million in funding. The round was led by Talis Capital, with participation from Latitude, Hearst Ventures, and Octopus Ventures.

The Plum Guide markets itself as a platform for affluent travellers who'd normally look for consistent quality and book a hotel rather than a holiday home. The startup, which works in London, Los Angeles, Milan, New York, Paris, and Rome, employs hospitality industry experts to come to the properties it's considering and vet them based on 150 points, ranging from proximity to cafes and transport, to speed of WiFi.

The startup plans to use the fresh capital to expand geographically. In April, The Plum guide launches in Barcelona, Berlin, Copenhagen, Lisbon, Madrid, and Tel Aviv; later this year, it plans to add six more cities in the US to the platform.