Alex Chatzieleftheriou based Blueground in 2013 after being pissed off with the dearth of short-term furnished residences in Europe. He had been touring as a advisor for McKinsey, dwelling nearly completely in lodge rooms for months.
“One time the corporate needed to pay as much as €15,000 for a lodge room in Amsterdam. And there wasn’t sufficient area nor a kitchen to prepare dinner,” he mentioned. “I attempted renting residences for a month or extra. However it was troublesome, and landlords weren’t open to purchasing furnishings. So I had created a enterprise that might clear up my downside.”
Some years later, on the top of the pandemic, enterprise was booming for his startup’s class – short-term, furnished residence rental firms – as folks roamed the world whereas working from house.
Now that many employers have referred to as staff again to places of work, the demand for momentary housing has cratered.
A few of his opponents didn’t survive. Zeus Living and WanderJaunt shut their doorways and returned the keys. Some turned acquisition alternatives for Blueground. In 2022, the corporate gained a powerful foothold in Latin America by buying Tabas, an operator of over 9,0000 furnished residences in Brazil. Inside months, Blueground snagged Travelers Haven, a 15-year-old enterprise that gives on-demand housing to staff in practically 20,000 cities all through the US. In 2023 it picked up Nestpick, a market for furnished residence operators, like Kasa and Placemakr, giving prospects entry to an additional 18,000 apartments.
Blueground now operates a world community of move-in prepared properties for stays of a month or extra, and has raised $45 million in Sequence D funding from new investor Susquehanna Non-public Fairness Investments together with different backers, together with WestCap, Chatzieleftheriou advised TechCrunch. The New York-based firm mentioned it additionally secured a debt facility from Barclays with participation from Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Financial institution and HSBC, which changed and upsized the $40 million of debt Blueground obtained from Silicon Valley Financial institution in 2021.
Blueground leases residences in common neighborhoods after which equips and furnishes them for renters. The corporate at present manages 15,000 residences in 32 markets in 17 nations. Along with taking out its personal leases, Blueground has not too long ago launched a franchise that companions with native operators in Japan and Thailand and lists items of third-party operators on its platform.
The corporate didn’t reveal its new valuation, however Chatzieleftheriou mentioned that the corporate’s worth has elevated since its earlier spherical. That valuation was reportedly $750 million after elevating a $140 million Sequence C in September 2021.
It’s no secret that the fundraising surroundings has been extraordinarily difficult for late-stage firms, particularly these within the proptech sector, which has been battered by rising rates of interest.
Chatzieleftheriou advised TechCrunch that his firm’s quick progress and near-profitability helped persuade buyers to fork over the newest funding.
Gross sales jumped by 70% to $560 million in 2023 over 2022’s $300 million in gross income, Chatzieleftheriou mentioned. Internet gross sales margin—that’s after it pays landlords for leases—is roughly 35%, he added and he expects Blueground to have optimistic money move in 2024.
Whereas additional acquisitions appear doubtless, given Chatzieleftheriou’s prediction of business consolidation, the rapid focus is integrating these current purchases. The brand new funding will go in direction of market growth, expertise investments, and presumably the last word monetary purpose: an IPO.
Discover more from TechPros: Innovate, Learn & Connect
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.