Trouva secures $10m investment in Series A funding round

Trouva, the online platform for independent retailers and boutiques, has landed $10m in a Series A funding round, which it will invest in expanding its business in the UK and globally.

The latest funding round was led by BGF Ventures, the UK's largest venture fund, along with Index Ventures (Europe's largest VC fund and a backer of ASOS, Farfetch and Etsy) and Octopus Investments. Two-year-old Trouva currently hosts a curated selection of 350 boutiques in the UK enabling them to compete with online retail giants by offering services such as click and collect, worldwide shipping and one-hour deliveries.

CEO and co-fouder Mandeep Singh said the investment would enable the business to enhance its service and expand its network. “We will be using the investment to further develop our unique platform at existing stores within the Trouva community, while funding expansion to new shops and boutiques across the UK, and ultimately further afield too,” he said.

“We want Trouva to become the global destination for the best independent shops in the greatest cities in the world. Whether we’re talking about Montmartre in Paris, Shibuya in Tokyo or Shoreditch in London, the greatest independents will be united on our global platform," Singh said.

Trouva enables independents to complete with e-commerce giants

BGF Ventures partner Harry Briggs said of Trouva: “I love the passion that independent boutiques bring to their craft - discovering wonderful products and creating a place that's a joy to visit. Everyone’s discovered a boutique somewhere that's full of things that feel made for their home.

"Trouva helps those boutiques reach more customers, and helps customers further-afield keep up with their favourite boutiques' latest ‘finds’. Discovery is so hard in homewares, and we believe that Trouva could help people across the world discover those unique, meaningful products that make home feel like home – while enabling the most extraordinary independent boutiques to not only survive, but thrive," he said.

Additional investors in this round include early investor Robin Klein at LocalGlobe, Playfair Capital, Downing Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank. Trouva also has a number of high-profile angel backers, including the former CTO of Farfetch and NET-A-PORTER, David Lindsay, Troy Collins co-founder of Secret Escapes, William Reeve co-founder of LOVEFiLM, Carlos Morgado former Group CTO at Just Eat, and Wendy Becker, former CEO of Jack Wills.

Trouva recently revealed that it was to establish a new tech hub in Lisbon, Portugal which will operate alongside its London HQ. Its tech team led by co-founder and CTO Alex Loizou (its third co-founder is Glen Walker) will triple in size as a result. Earlier this month it unveiled its first ever TV ad.