
Octopus invests £2.2m in Uniplaces
Octopus Investments has injected £2.2m into Uniplaces, an online accommodation rental platform for students.
The company will use the fresh funding to expand into new student cities internationally, including cities in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy. It also plans to launch in Birmingham and Manchester later this year.
Octopus was joined in the round by angel investors Alex Chesterman, the founder of Zoopla Property Group and LoveFilm; Portuguese angel fund Shilling Capital Partners; and Rob McClatchey, a former chairman of University Partnerships Program and managing director at Barclays Capital.
Previous funding
In November 2013, Octopus invested £700,000 in Uniplaces alongside angel investors Chesterman and Graze.com chairman William Reeve.
Company
Founded in 2012, Uniplaces is headquartered in London with an additional office in Lisbon. The company offers a service that allows landlords to rent accommodation online to international and domestic students.
The company is currently present in the UK, Spain and Portugal.
People
Ben Grech is the founder and CEO of Uniplaces. Rebecca Hunt is a member of the ventures team at Octopus. Investor McClatchey has joined Uniplaces' board of directors following the round.
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