Appear Here, a London-based online marketplace for retail space, has landed an investment from Fifth Wall.
Technology-focused real estate investment firm Fifth Wall Ventures said it has formed a strategic partnership with the business, providing an undisclosed amount of capital in the process. The startup has reportedly landed $12m in a Series B round led by Octopus Ventures according to various media reports. The round also featured participation from Simon Venture Group, Balderton, MMC, Meyer Bergman and Playfair Capital, according to the reports.
Appear Here is an online marketplace for short-term retail space, enabling businesses to rent out thousands of spaces across London, Paris and, as of April 2017, New York. It claims to have seen more than 100,000 brands use its services to date, along with thousands of independent businesses and entrepreneurs. The company has already booked 4,000 shops in the last 12 months in London alone and generates approximately $33M in demand each month.
The strategic partnership with Fifth Wall will help expand the supply on Appear Here marketplace as it continues its U.S. expansion. It will also enable the startup to tap into Fifth Wall vast retail network and LPs, which include Macerich,?Hines, and?CBRE. Back in May, Fifth Wall came?out of stealth mode by?announcing?the close of its first fund, worth $212 million. The Los Angeles-based firm has previously backed the likes of b8ta, Clutter, Notarize, and Opendoor.
So far this month, California-based real estate platform?Roofstock?has raised $35m by closing a Series C funding round led by?Canvas Ventures. Other backers participating in the round include Lightspeed Venture Partners,?Bain Capital Ventures,?Khosla Ventures,?Nyca Partners, QED Investors, and FJ Labs. Online real estate investment platform?BrickVest?also recently closed a ?7m Series A funding round led by Berlin Hyp. The investment marked one of the largest Series A investments into the PropTech sector.
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