Augmentum Fintech backs German tech rental platform
London-listed investment fund Augmentum Fintech has led an €11m (£9.8m) funding round backing German technology rental firm Grover.
Augmentum invested €6m in Grover – which offers consumers flexible subscriptions to products including smartphones and laptops – the fund’s first investment in Germany.
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Samsung NEXT, Varengold Bank, and Commerzbank’s Main Incubator have all already invested in Grover, which rents products to consumers and businesses across Germany. Grover said the new funding round would enable it to expand to other countries.
Founded in 2017, Augmentum listed on the London Stock Exchange last year. Its portfolio was valued at £77.6m at the end of March, and includes equity crowdsourcing platform Seedrs and challenger bank Tide.
“The German market offers huge potential for Augmentum,” said chief executive Tim Levene.
“Grover is a classic fintech disruptor. Its growth reflects a consumer trend for continued access to the latest electronic products. We believe this way of accessing technology ‘ownership’ will continue to scale across throughout Germany and across Europe,” Levene said.
“I am very pleased to welcome Augmentum as a new investor and am delighted with the overall confidence of our investment partners in Grover’s long-term business success,” said Grover founder and chief executive Michael Cassau.
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“This new funding round will enable us to drive service- and product innovation and bring Grover’s future-oriented rental service for consumer electronics to new and international customers beyond the German market,” Cassau added.
Augmentum shares were flat at 109.50p in afternoon trading.
Main image credit: Augmentum