As startups double down on acquisition to broaden their reach, the Swedish Hygglo seems to be going headlong in this direction and is on the verge of acquiring Fat Llama, the community marketplace for renting almost anything. The deal will see the combined company become the world’s biggest and most sophisticated peer-to-peer rental platform.
The deal is understood to be in the region of €41 million. Prior to this development, it was noted that since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, UK’s Fat Llama grew from strength to strength with strong demand for its party-related items including speakers, cameras, and DJ decks, which helped it to achieve profitability in 2021.
An achievement that saw on the verge of being acquired startup targeted by Canadian peer Ruckify for a merger and combined stock market listing last year. It was after the deal fell through that Fat Llama was approached by Hygglo on the basis of acquisition. The deal also meant that Hygglo will acquire Fat Llama’s team, software, operation, and branding. However, Fat Llama will retain its name in the UK, US, and any new market in mainland Europe, while the startup’s co-founders ‘Rosie Dallas’ and ‘Chaz Englander’ will help oversee the integration as well as the formation of the company’s new board.
Founded in London in 2016, Fat Llama has since become one of the biggest names in the growing sharing economy sector. The startup which currently boasts of over 350,000 items listed to rent, allows customers to use the platform to rent items including cameras, campaign equipment, drones, and padding pools. As a result, its number one lender made over £250,000 last year, whilst its top 500+ lenders are regularly making more than £12,000 a year in additional income. While the startup’s lenders are believed to have used the income from the subject platform for weddings, holidays, and house deposits.
It’s also clear that the Swedish Hygglo combining with Fat Llama places the two companies on the platform of the biggest European peer-to-peer rental platform, allowing the companies to serve more customers across Europe and the US. Centralizing operations, technology, and costs will enable the two entities to grow efficiently and at scale by unlocking new categories and customers to help transform approaches to ownership across the world. A sustainable model that empowers people to make money from the assets they already own.
Co-founder at Fat Llama ‘Chaz Englander’, 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”.
Responding to this development, ‘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 U.S to have more sustainable lifestyles through buying less and renting more”.
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