Flexible rental startup Ukio raises €27M as it plans to expand across Western Europe

Barcelona-based Ukio, a flexible rental startup that provides fully furnished and serviced homes across Europe, announced on Wednesday that it has secured €27M in a combination of equity (€17M) and debt (€10M) in a Series A round funding led by Felix Capital. Other investors, including Kreos Capital, Heartcore, and Breega, also participated. 

The Spanish company will use the funds to grow its on-the-ground and in-house teams, particularly its tech experts. 

Ukio will also deploy a part of the capital towards investing in its platform, developing a B2B service, and expanding more widely across Western Europe, including Paris, Dublin, Milan and London, and more, by the end of 2023. 

Ukio: What you need to know

Founded by Stanley and Jeremy Fourteau in 2020, Ukio offers an exclusive collection of uniquely designed apartments targeting the new generation of flexible workers. 

Jeremy Fourteau, the founder of Ukio, says, “Finding and renting an apartment for a month or more is still incredibly complex and time-intensive for modern consumers who are used to doing everything and anything digitally. Ukio was created to overcome this challenge. We’re building proprietary software tools, so it’s easier than ever for people to find the perfect home to stay in, simplify their search and create the essential products and features to provide a high-end service to our guests.” 

With this move, Ukio provides a high-end experience for guests while providing landlords with a guaranteed long-term income stream. 

According to the company, each apartment is furnished by a handpicked team of local designers who specialise in creating unique, sustainable, premium living spaces. In addition, every apartment is powered by renewable energy, and all furnishings are sourced from eco-friendly suppliers. 

To date, Ukio has a list of 500+ curated apartments in cities like Barcelona to Madrid and Lisbon to Berlin. The Spanish company is also building a tech stack to centralise and optimise functions across the platform, including internal proprietary software tools and further developing key features, such as its automated monthly rental subscription.

Stanley Fourteau, the founder of Ukio, says, “We founded Ukio to be the go-to solution for a new generation of flexible workers. The rise in remote work is unshackling people from their desks, enabling them to experience more of the world, and they are using this opportunity to live and work wherever they want. Yet, the residential real estate market has stuck in the past and is in no way conducive to the needs of tomorrow’s generation. So we’re building the future at Ukio – where people can live freely, supported by technology, and without the typical pain points associated with the housing market.” 

Since the start of 2022, Ukio claimed to have achieved 7x YoY revenue growth and now boasts 96 per cent occupancy. Currently, the company employs around 120 people across Europe. 

Investor

Based out of London, Felix Capital is a venture capital firm that manages over $1.2 billion of venture and growth capital, with a strategy to invest in a digital lifestyle at home and work. 

Since its launch in 2015, Felix Capital has invested in over 50 companies, including Farfetch, Mirakl, Mejuri, Moonbug, and others.  

 Antoine Nussenbaum, Partner and Founder at Felix Capital, says, “Jeremy, Stanley, and the Ukio team are attacking a €30B market opportunity in Europe, which has been completely overlooked for too long. They have built an incredible company based on strong business fundamentals in a fast-growing market segment that disrupts the traditional residential model. We see their fully-integrated platform as providing an essential service for modern consumers who want to experience more of the world and have the means and flexibility to do so. We’re thrilled to be backing them and watching them launch in new cities in 2023.”