Market-leading Berlin-based subscription startup Grover has today secured €60 million (nearly £52 million) in an oversubscribed Series B funding round involving a number of UK investors.
Circular approach to consumer electronics
A number of UK investors are involved in the round, including circular economy PE firm Circularity Capital and Augmentum Fintech.
Of this, €45 million (nearly £39 million) came from new investors led by Jonathan Schneider at private equity firm JMS Capital-Everglen along with participation Viola Fintech, Assurant, founders and angel investors from North America and Europe and existing investors, including UK-based circular economy VC, PE firm Circularity Capital, Augmentum Fintech, Samsung Next, Seedcamp and more. Another €15 million (nearly £13 million) came as venture debt financing issued by European growth debt provider Kreos Capital.
Grover will use the funding to increase market penetration, advance product innovation and accelerate international expansion. It will also support its ambitious goals of tripling its subscriptions of 450,000 by the end of 2021. This will help it bring about a more circular approach to consumer electronics.
Michael Cassau, CEO and Founder of Grover: “The fresh funding allows us to bring these possibilities to even more people across the world. It enables us to double down on creating an unparalleled customer experience for our subscribers, and to push the boundaries of the most innovative ways for people and businesses to access and enjoy technology. The strong support from our investors confirms not only the important value our service brings to people, but also Grover’s vast growth potential. We’re still just scratching the surface of a €1 trillion global market.”
Massive growth amidst pandemic
The funding came after Grover witnessed strong growth of 2.5x in 2020 as consumers flocked to the its flexible rental service. It achieved €37 million net revenue during the fiscal year, and saved over 4,000 metric tons of CO2 saved, thanks to device recirculation.
As a follow-up of its growth in 2020, Grover founded by Michael Cassau in 2015 intends to scale up in core markets – Germany, the Netherlands and Austria and roll out its service in new markets such as Spain and the US. It also wants to expand its portfolio into new categories such as connected health and fitness devices, smart appliances, and consumer robots. Also, it invests in top talent and team development in order to drive growth. This includes the roping in of Michael Kostadinovich from Better.com as its Chief Technology Officer earlier this month.