Blueground Secures $50M Series B Funding

The round was co-led by two prominent investment firms: WestCap Investment Partners and Prime Ventures. WestCap's founding partner, Laurence Tosi, is an experienced investor and operator, who served as the long time CFO of private equity firm, Blackstone, and subsequently, as the CFO of Airbnb, the leading home-sharing marketplace.

Blueground envisions a world in which people can feel at home wherever they choose to live. The company creates that experience through beautifully designed, tech-powered apartments for stays ranging from one month to a year or longer. With this new round, Blueground will increase resources to further develop its proprietary technology, product design, guest experience, and further expand its presence in both the United States and Europe. The expansion begins with the launch of London, Paris and Seattle by year end 2019, and position Blueground to reach its 2023 target of serving guests in over 50 cities globally.

"The idea of one's home being a fixed, long-term commitment is changing as more people around the world are choosing to live in multiple cities for work or other reasons. Our guests get unprecedented convenience and flexibility with the ability to just show up and start living on day one in beautifully designed, tech-powered apartments," said Alex Chatzieleftheriou, CEO and co-founder of Blueground. "For property owners, partnering with Blueground is an ideal solution. We offer a steady yield, 100% guaranteed occupancy and manage all the work on their behalf to enable a seamless guest experience. We are excited to expand our relationships with leading developers and property managers across the world."

To date, the company has built a portfolio of more than 2,800 apartments in nine cities around the world. With this Series B round, Blueground has now raised a total of $78M in equity funding. Previous financing included investments from well-established funds such as VentureFriends, Endeavor Catalyst, Jabbar Internet Group and AlleyCorp. In January of this year, Blueground named the well known New York City-based entrepreneur Kevin Ryan, CEO of AlleyCorp, to its Board of Directors. 2019 has marked a banner year for Blueground, as the business has achieved 3X YoY revenue growth and surpassed 1M+ nights spent by guests.

"WestCap is pleased to partner with Blueground as it continues to execute on its proven strategy of disciplined growth," said Charlie Young, Partner at WestCap. "Blueground's ability to pair an outstanding guest experience with best-in-class capital efficiency will serve to increasingly distinguish the disruptive business in this fast-paced ecosystem." As part of the round, Charlie Young will join Blueground's Board of Directors.

"Through leveraging the power of technology, Blueground has developed a unique value proposition and approach to this emerging space in the market," said Nick Kalliagkopoulos of Prime Ventures. "We are impressed by what the team has achieved to date, and look forward to helping lead this new chapter of the real estate industry." As part of the round Nick Kalliagkopoulos will join Blueground's Board of Directors.

Blueground focuses on high-quality, residential real estate in the most vibrant markets globally, sporting a strong-track record leasing apartments from individual to institutional owners and property management companies such as Related Rentals, UDR, and Pinnacle Living.

For guests, Blueground offers a completely turnkey living solution. Every Blueground apartment is intentionally designed and includes premium furnishings, high-speed WiFi, luxury linens, and everything needed to simply #ShowUpStartLiving. Blueground's vetted guests have access to ongoing support through the Blueground app; the app provides digital access to a broad suite of value-added services such as cleaning, maintenance, and an easy relocation function that allows guests to experience new apartments in different neighborhoods and cities on demand.

About Blueground

Blueground (https://www.theblueground.com/) is a real estate tech company that wants to help people feel at home wherever they choose to live. The company offers beautifully furnished and thoughtfully equipped apartments for a month, a year, or even longer that are designed to help people simply show up and start living. Motivated by its mission to create a tech powered living experience that guests love, homed in an organization where great people are proud to work, Blueground has grown quickly, surpassing 2,800 apartments and 400 team members in nine cities; New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Washington D.C., Dubai, Istanbul and Athens. Blueground plans to have a presence in 50 cities around the world and a portfolio of more than 50,000 apartments by 2023.

About WestCap

WestCap is a growth oriented strategic investment firm that targets equity investments in market leading private businesses that leverage technology to disrupt incumbents in substantial addressable markets. From its offices in New York City and San Francisco, WestCap partners with visionary businesses to execute an investment strategy that leverages its operational experience to build next generation companies. For more information, see https://www.westcap.com/

About Prime Ventures

Prime Ventures is a leading venture capital and growth equity firm focused on investing in high growth European technology companies. The firm leverages its capital, experience and network to actively guide its portfolio to become global category leaders. From its offices in The Netherlands and the UK, the independent partnership manages over 750 million euros in committed capital. For more information, see https://www.primeventures.com.