Fat Llama, the community marketplace for renting almost anything, is about to be acquired by Swedish-based online rental marketplace Hygglo for about €41 million. The combined company is on its way to become the world’s biggest and most sophisticated peer-to-peer rental platform.
Since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK-based startup Fat Lama has gone from strength to strength with strong demand for its party-related items including cameras, speakers and DJ decks, helping it to achieve profitability last year.
This success saw Fat Llama targeted by Canadian peer Ruckify for a merger and combined stock market listing last year. After the deal fell through, Fat Llama was approached by Hygglo for an acquisition. The deal will see Hygglo acquire Fat Llama’s team, operations, software and branding. Fat Llama will retain its name in the UK, US and any new markets in mainland Europe, while the startup’s co-founders Chaz Englander and Rosie Dallas will help oversee the integration as well as take seats on the new board.
Fat Llama was founded in London in 2016 and has since become one of the biggest names in the growing sharing economy sector. With more than 350,000 items listed to rent, customers use the platform to rent items including campaign equipment, cameras, drones and even paddling pools. Its number one lender made over £250,000 in 2021, whilst its top 500+ lenders are regularly making over £12,000 a year in additional income. Fat Llama lenders have used the income from the platform to save for weddings, house deposits and holidays.
By combining with Hygglo, the two companies will become the biggest European peer-to-peer rental platform, allowing them to serve more customers across Europe and the US. Centralising operations, technology and costs will enable the combined business to grow more efficiently and at scale by unlocking new categories and customers to help transform approaches to ownership across the world. Together, they will create a new model of ownership, enabling more people to become sustainable whilst empowering people to make money from the assets they already own.
Chaz Englander, co-founder at Fat Llama, said: “We’ve built a brilliant business and team at Fat Llama and I’m so proud of everything we’ve achieved so far. I couldn’t imagine a better future for the business than this acquisition with Hygglo. We’re on exactly the same page when it comes to powering this rental revolution across Europe and the world. Founding and scaling a startup isn’t an easy thing to do but it’s an incredibly rewarding experience and this is a great moment for us to celebrate everything we’ve achieved so far. Our priority now is on smoothly integrating Fat Llama into Hygglo but Rosie and I are both entrepreneurs first and foremost and we’re excited about what the future holds for us.”
Ola Degerfors, CEO at Hygglo, commented: “I’m delighted that Hygglo is acquiring Fat Llama and to combine our two amazing businesses. Chaz and Rosie have built Fat Llama into an incredible company, with advanced verification technology, great design and a loyal customer base of both renters and lenders. This is a really exciting moment for us to come together and create the world’s biggest and most sophisticated rental platform and enable people across Europe and the US to have more sustainable lifestyles through buying less and renting more.”
via https://www.AiUpNow.com
August 16, 2022 at 10:17AM by contact@bcurdy.com (Thomas Ohr), Khareem Sudlow
