London-based startup Fat Lama has raised £1m from a collection of angel investors, adding to the £150,000 pre-Seed it raised in October 2016.
When pushed on who provided the investment, the firm said it was a group of individuals including a “successful tech entrepreneur … an international media executive and a very well-known executive at a global investment bank”.
Fat Lama, which launched three months ago, is a peer-to-peer rental site enabling people to loan and borrow belongings, such as lawn mowers or cameras.
All items listed on the site are fully insured, due to an insurance agreement underwritten by Hiscox Ltd.
The company claims some of its users make more than £500 per month via the platform.
Fat Lama CEO Chaz Englander said: “The rapid growth we’ve seen across users, listings and revenue is proof that people are looking to a more efficient model of ownership.
“Fat Lama offers an alternative to those concerned by overconsumption. Many people believe our planet is straining under the weight of our throwaway consumer culture – so much so that sharing possessions is not a luxury, but a necessity,” he added.
Englander, who previously worked in early-stage investment, co-founded the company with Rosie Dallas, who is a marketing and branding specialist, and Owen Turner-Major, who is a developer.
The CEO said he sees the company’s latest raise as a key demonstration of the rapid growth of UK sharing economy in spite of Brexit funding fears for startups.
“The hunger for UK sharing economy startups has never been stronger,” he said.