Grosvenor leads £2m fundraise for tech start-up NearSt
Grosvenor Group has led a £2m funding round into Google-backed start-up NearSt, as the estate turns to technology to increase footfall for its tenants.
The company accounted for “a significant part” of NearSt’s latest raise, according to a spokesman, bringing the total raised by the tech firm to £5m.
Founded by Max Kreijn (pictured above, left) and Nick Brackenbury (right), London-based NearSt recommends nearby shops to users based on their online product searches, providing data which appears in Google search results.
Grosvenor Group has led a £2m funding round into Google-backed start-up NearSt, as the estate turns to technology to increase footfall for its tenants.
The company accounted for “a significant part” of NearSt’s latest raise, according to a spokesman, bringing the total raised by the tech firm to £5m.
Founded by Max Kreijn (pictured above, left) and Nick Brackenbury (right), London-based NearSt recommends nearby shops to users based on their online product searches, providing data which appears in Google search results.
Grosvenor, which manages hundreds of historic properties in Mayfair and Belgravia, has been recommending that its retail clients use NearSt since at least last summer. However, this marks its first direct investment in the platform, as well as the tech sector at large.
The move comes as non-essential shops in London are forced to remain closed amid a resurgence in the Covid-19 pandemic. But even when their doors reopen, footfall is expected to struggle. NearSt’s platform is designed to alleviate this by encouraging shoppers to choose nearby bricks-and-mortar shops rather than buying online.
Ian Mair, managing director of digital innovation at Grosvenor, said: “Digital technologies and changing customer expectations will radically change the property industry over the next decade.
“Making it easier for customers to find items they are looking for in local shops will encourage them onto their local high street rather than ordering online.
“We have already seen the benefits of NearSt on Grosvenor’s London estate, and as part of our wider innovation agenda across the Grosvenor Group we will look to roll this out to other retailers in the locations that we operate.
“Google already sees the impact that live in-store inventory data can have. This is a multi-billion-dollar market that technology has barely touched, and NearSt has the potential to truly transform how we all interact with physical retail.”
Photo © NearSt
