Brent Hoberman came up with the idea for Lastminute.com when he was a twenty-something consultant in 1996. He waited until people were buying on the web before persuading Martha Lane Fox, whom he had met while they were colleagues, to go into business with him.

After an initial refusal Ms Lane Fox agreed, and Lastminute.com was formed in April 1998. It listed in March 2000 amid huge fanfare, which saw its share price jump from an initial 380p to 555p, before hitting a low of 17p as the tech stock crash took hold.