Online furniture platform eporta has raised £5.67 million in funding.
The London firm allows interior designers, architects, property developers, offices and other businesses to find and purchase furniture pieces directly from manufacturers around the world.
The series A funding round led by US investor Canvas Ventures and included venture capitalists LocalGlobe, Oxford Capital Partners, Talis Capital and Samos Ventures alongside angel investors Guy Hands, Betfair co-founder Ed Wray, Rohan Blacker, Zoopla co-founder Simon Kain and Will Cooper.
eporta was founded in 2015 by Manchester-born Aneeqa Khan, a former strategy lead at property marketplace Zoopla who featured as one of our 101 Female Founders of Tech.
“During my time at Zoopla I bought a flat in Brixton and was basically struggling to find furniture for it,” Khan said.
“I realised that it wasn’t because there aren’t great pieces out there [but] because it’s really hard for people to find those great pieces or for the people who make the pieces to find trade buyers. So I decided to solve that problem.
“Our manufacturer base is now the largest global database of manufacturers online for trade. Our selection is just huge.”
eporta will now more than double its team of 28 in Clerkenwell, London, and set up its first office outside the UK.
It will also launch new product categories including fabrics, bathrooms and surfaces.