HubBox, a retail tech startup, has raised $1.6m in pre-Series A funding.
Venture capital fund KM Capital (KMC), Angel Tech Investors (ATI), Nexus Investment Ventures (NIVL) and Alan Halsall, the ex CEO of Silver Cross Prams, are among the startup’s backers.
Founded in 2015, HubBox has created proprietary technology to enable retailers to implement a local Click and Collect option through a network of 3,500 collection points.
Built in London, the software already serves more than 100 retailers, including Jack Wills and Warehouse.
“The traditional model can be quite inflexible, as providing Click and Collect services is courier-dependent and often accompanied by prohibitive development costs,” said Sam Jarvis, the CEO and co-founder.
“By providing customisable software at no additional cost and enabling retailers to continue delivering with their current courier, HubBox becomes accessible to any retailer, large or small,” Jarvis continued.
Adam Kamani of KMC spoke about why he decided to invest in the business. “We seek to identify entrepreneurial teams that can scale dynamically and have the potential to transform their respective industries.
“We found this in HubBox – their Click and Collect technology and proposition signals a real innovation within the existing marketplace.”
Rob Fraser, former CIO of Boots and Sainsbury’s, joined the startup as chairman. He said: “Customer choice and convenience are critical drivers for success in online retailing. I’m delighted to join HubBox, who are redefining what ‘great’ looks like for Click and Collect.”
Matthew O’Kane, managing director of NIVL said he was delighted to have supported the team since early 2016, noting the startup represented a “very exciting constituent” of the firm’s portfolio.
“HubBox’s increasing attractiveness to both high calibre retailer customers and high calibre investors is of no surprise to us: they have developed their team, their tech, their collection network and their retailer proposition impressively in 2017.
“They go into 2018 well-positioned to deliver their meaningful solution to any retailer wishing to take a larger piece of the UK’s continuing love-affair with on-line shopping,” concluded the investor.
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