Movinga, a new online removals company based in Germany, has reportedly received around US$25 million in Series B funding from investors led by global venture capital firm, Index Ventures.
The investment comes on top of a reported cash injection of six million euros in seed funding made last September by a number of investment companies specializing in start-up businesses.
Movinga, which claims to be Europe’s fastest growing removals company, was founded only a year ago by two young entrepreneurs, Bastian Knutzen and Chris Maslowski, and now operates in several European countries including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. According to the company’s website more than 1,000 removals are completed every month.
Customers are able to obtain an instant quotation for their move online by simply entering key information such as the number of rooms, the number of people in the household and of course the date and addresses of the properties involved. Clever software then works out an accurate quotation meaning an in-person visit by a surveyor is not required. Once the quotation is given and accepted by the customer the price is fixed and Movinga guarantees that no additional charges will be made. Unlike most removal companies, payment is not due until 24-hours after the move is completed.
Prices are kept low by using spare capacity in carefully selected partner companies’ vehicles, avoiding empty or partly full runs and optimising available space. A special routing algorithm is used to match jobs with partners running with part loads. The company claims that prices are kept up to 70% lower than typical moving costs. Movinga also claims that partner companies are vetted using similar standards as the main industry trade organisations, and that all international work is carried out by FIDI members.
According to a report on business website Crunchbase.com, Index Ventures’ Timm Schipporeit said, “We firmly believe in their vision to build Europe’s leading marketplace for removals, a huge category which had yet to be addressed. Bastian and the team offer customers a vastly enhanced and seamless experience when it comes to requesting a price, booking and conducting a move. Similarly, Movinga provides leading removal companies with a comprehensive end-to-end marketing, booking and planning platform, creating extraordinary efficiencies for all parties.”
Photo: Bastian Knutzen (left) and Chris Maslowski.
Editor’s note:
The Mover has asked for an interview with the company’s directors to verify some of these extraordinary claims, to investigate how the high level of funding was obtained and to establish more about how the operational process works. The report will be published as soon as possible.