CBRE has acquired a stake in logistics start-up Stowga, the online platform that acts like “Airbnb for the industrial sector”, as part of a strategic partnership.
The 18-month old start-up, set up by EG Rising Star Charlie Pool to address the issue around cumbersome warehouse lease lengths, connects warehouse occupiers, owners and third-party logistics companies that have short-term surplus space capacity with retail businesses looking for on-demand logistics services.
CBRE was an investor in Stowga’s latest £1.5m fund raise and will now transact all of its short-term industrial contracts though Stowga. The platform will remain open to other agents despite the strategic tie-up.
“The platform is open to everyone,” said Amaury Gariel, EMEA industrial and logistics managing director at CBRE. “The world we are living in is led far more now by short- term transactions. Agility is very important to our clients and the system Charlie and his team has developed exactly fits that brief. We have taken inspiration from the on-demand way offices increasingly work and from pop-up stores and Airbnb.”
Other investors in the latest round include fintech start-up Anthemis and VC firm Speedinvest.
“Anthemis is well known in fintech and will help us add financing products to the platform,” said Stowga’s chief executive Charlie Pool.
“It means we can add on-demand insurance for goods and trade finance. Speedinvest is the most active seed-stage venture capital investor in Europe and is very well networked across the Continent, which is helpful as our intention is to expand into Europe next year.”
Gariel added: “It makes sense for us to stand behind some specialist investors in this sector. I think that’s the new model, mixing different approaches in the same business and everyone will being their own capabilities. There is a huge incentive for everyone to make this a huge success.”
For more, listen to a podcast with Stowga’s Pool and CBRE’s Gariel below.
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