Lola Exits Travel With Acquisition by Capital One

Corporate travel booking and expense app Lola has closed down, with banking company Capital One acquiring most of its employees and software, according to local media.

The winding down follows Lola’s split from American Express Global Business Travel last month, at which point the startup said it was making way for “new things coming soon.”

All of its corporate contracts have been terminated, and refunds have been issued, the report added.

Lola did not respond to Skift’s request for comment.

Co-founders Paul English and Mike Volpe, plus more than 50 other staff, will relocate to Capital One’s McLean, Virginia-based office in the U.S. and work in the bank’s fintech division.

With the newly recruited Lola team, Capital One gains even more travel technology expertise, following its acquisition of Freebird, a platform that lets agents sell smarter flight insurance and rebooking services, in August last year. 

Capital One also led a fundraising round worth $170 million in August this year for online travel agency Hopper, which now powers Capital One Travel, the booking platform used by its cardholders.

The Boston Globe reported that Capital One completed the acquisition of Lola from its investors, a group that included venture capital firms General Catalyst and Accel, as well as English and Volpe, on Thursday.

General Catalyst was also an investor in Freebird, while other travel interests include Airbnb, Hopin and Sabre, according to its website.