Following a period which it describes as dominated by ‘sustained expansion’, London and Hamburg-based MetaPack has raised new funds.

The fundraising follows two years after former Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy joined the board and invested £2 million of his own capital.

Index Ventures‘ commitment, which stands at £20 million, will be put towards fuelling growth in Europe, US and Asia.

Established in 1999, MetaPack provides e-commerce and delivery technology to retailers such as M&S, John Lewis and ASOS. Its platform connects shippers with parcel carriers and is reportedly utilised by 75 per cent of the top 100 UK retailers.

Dominique Vidal has led the deal for Index Ventures, which has technology portfolio companies including ASOS, Last.fm and Betfair, and will be joining the board of MetaPack alongside Leahy and Bob Willett, the former CEO of Best Buy.

Patrick Wall, CEO and founder of MetaPack, says that its partnership with Index Ventures will help in its aim to make e-commerce delivery easier for the retailer and consumer.

‘Dominique and Index Ventures have precisely the right expertise and experience to help us in developing our international growth strategy.’

More on Index Ventures investments:

• MyHeritage nets return capital from Index Ventures
• Imran Amed’s The Business of Fashion dressed for growth
• Secret Escapes aims for membership growth

As well as going after the European, American and Asian markets, MetaPack is planning to build customer support and products as well as enhancing its cross-border capabilities.

Vidal, partner at Index Ventures, adds, ‘Over the last three years, MetaPack has changed the face of online logistics, transforming the supply chain for a host of leading UK retailers.

‘Now it is perfectly positioned to repeat that success across Europe and in global markets. We’re very excited to be able to help them do that.’

The deal involving Leahy and Willetts follows on from an investment made in Occa-Home by the two earlier in November.

Willetts says, ‘Dominique will increase our understanding of the future developments of e-commerce, bringing valuable knowledge of working with companies who are similarly experiencing high levels of growth.’