Community marketplace ‘We Are Pop Up’ snaps up £420,000 of funding
We Are Pop Up, the community marketplace that connects brands and businesses with short-term retail properties in the UK, has raised further funding of £420,000.
This new round of funding was led by the Arts Alliance with participation from University College London.
We Are Pop Up allows potential tenants to find available locations for short term-shops, restaurants, art projects and one-off events, while giving landlords an efficient way to access a fast growing source of new tenants.
Pop Up Sponteneity
One in seven shops on UK High Streets currently lie vacant, partially because the current commercial property model is out-dated and only deals in years, not months or weeks.
We Are Pop Up enables both property holders and tenants to experiment with filling shops in a different way and over a shorter term.
Pop ’til you drop
Since launching in 2012, more than 1,400 businesses and brands have applied to run over 900 projects in over 100 commercial spaces around the UK.
The company has over 3,500 registered users , and over 120 properties currently available on the platform, provided by leading operators like BOXPARK Shoreditch.
Thomas Hoegh from Arts Alliance, said:
In the same way that former Arts Alliance companies lastminute.com and Lovefilm transformed the travel and film spaces respectively, we believe We Are Pop Up will bring fresh dynamism and innovation to the High Street.