Grover receives €270 million in funding from leading global asset manager M&G as consumers pivot to tech rental

28 September 2022

· €270m asset-backed capital to reinforce presence in current and new European markets

· Grover has experienced significant growth of more than 100% year on year and has seen its customer base grow by more than 50% since the beginning of 2022, as customers seek more flexibility in an increasingly challenging economic climate

· The tech subscription model has curbed the purchase of 134,000 new devices and saved 210 tonnes of e-waste from landfill.

Berlin, 28th of September 2022. Grover, the leading consumer-tech subscription platform, has agreed a new €270 million debt financing facility with M&G, the international asset manager. With the fresh capital Grover will expand its product inventory to serve rising demand from customers in existing markets such as Germany, Spain, Netherlands, and Austria and into new European markets.

As the company gears up for the next phase of growth, Grover has also welcomed new high-profile members to its board, including former media executive Joanna Coles, former Klarna Board member Sarah McPhee, former Snap CFO Lara Sweet and Colleen DeCourcy, Chief Creative Officer of Snap.

In the current challenging market environment, the recent funding is an important endorsement of the strength of Grover’s business model. As inflation and the cost of living continue to rise, consumers are flocking to Grover’s tech rental platform to access the tech they need without large upfront expenses or long-term financial commitments. Its customer base has grown by more than 50% since the beginning of the year with demand particularly strong in the US and Western Europe, and in the B2B segment. With the new funding, Grover will continue to bridge the digital divide for consumers around the world.

Michael Cassau, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Grover said: “Technology is a basic human right. Grover is advancing the world to digital fluency so people will benefit from the experiences that the right technology in the right hands can deliver. Grover allows people to have access to more tech without getting into debt. Everyone now needs a substantial tech budget to provide basic access to the digital world. With persistent inflation, this is a demand that many cannot afford, and it’s essential we make sure access to tech is equitable. In the last months, we’ve been seeing the tech rental movement gaining further momentum as consumers turn to more flexible and sustainable solutions amid increasing costs of living. The fresh capital allows us to meet this growing demand in existing and new markets.

“M&G is one of the largest and most reputable asset managers globally and a leader in ESG investing, making them the ideal strategic partner for our circular business model. The partnership will be valuable to help us develop an impact metric to measure the positive impact we have on society, by reducing debt dependency and offering affordable access to technology, and by lengthening the lifetime of devices and reducing e-waste.”

Will Nicoll, CIO of Private & Alternative Assets, M&G, said: “Grover’s focus on developing sustainable ways to access technology is changing consumer habits for the better. By providing financing through the form of an Asset Backed Security, we are helping Grover to expand its reach, while providing our pension fund and institutional clients with attractive cashflows."

To date, Grover has raised €800m in debt funding in Europe and $250m in the USA. Asset-backed lending is gaining popularity among companies and lenders active in the Circular Economy space, as it enables new businesses to acquire physical goods with non-dilutive capital.

The partnership is a result of Grover’s commitment to accelerating a societal shift away from tech ownership to a circular economy, by keeping products in use for longer and precious materials out of landfill. Grover’s products are returned, refurbished and recirculated until the end of their usable life. Devices are used by (on average) four different users over several years. As of July 2022, Grover has rented out more than 1million devices. According to proprietary data, their tech subscription model has curbed the purchase of 134,000 new devices between 2015 and 2020, saving 210 tonnes of e-waste from landfill. The company currently has more than 800,000 items in circulation covering the entire consumer electronics spectrum.

In this exceptional year for Grover, the tech subscription platform has expanded in its fastest growing market - the US, continues to accelerate its embedded finance strategy with the Grover Card and plans to launch a new B2B software tool in the US, the Netherlands, Spain and Austria in 2022.

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About Grover

Grover is the global leader in technology rentals, enabling people to subscribe to tech products monthly instead of buying them. Founded in 2015 by Michael Cassau, Grover’s mission is to make exceptional technology more accessible, because technology is a basic human right. With Grover, subscribers get access to a wide range of over 5,000 tech products, including smartphones, laptops, virtual reality (VR) gear, wearables and smart home appliances on a flexible monthly rental basis. Grover’s service allows its users to keep, switch, buy, or return products depending on their individual needs and budget. Rentals are available in the U.S., Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Spain at GROVER.COM, as well as in Germany through Grover’s online and offline partner network, including Europe’s leading electronics retail group, MediaMarktSaturn. Grover is a pioneer in the advancement of the circular economy. Its business model of renting out tech products to several users across their life cycle allows maximum value to be extracted from each product and reduces e-waste.

About M&G

M&G Investments is part of M&G plc, a savings and investment business which was formed in 2017 through the merger of Prudential plc’s UK and Europe savings and insurance operation and M&G, its wholly owned international investment manager. M&G plc listed as an independent company on the London Stock Exchange in October 2019 and has over €400 billion of assets under management (as at 30 June 2022). M&G plc has customers in the UK, Europe, the Americas and Asia, including individual savers and investors, life insurance policy holders and pension scheme members.

For nearly nine decades M&G Investments has been helping its customers to prosper by putting investments to work, which in turn creates jobs, homes and vital infrastructure in the real economy. Its investment solutions span equities, fixed income, multi asset, cash, private debt, infrastructure and real estate.

M&G recognises the importance of responsible investing and is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) and is a member of the Climate Bonds Initiative Partners Programme.

M&G plc has committed to achieve net zero carbon emissions on its total book of assets under management and administration by 2050 and committed to reduce operational carbon emissions as a corporate entity to net zero by 2030.

For more information, please visit: https://global.mandg.com/