KKR leads $180m round for Singapore's Livspace
KKR has led a USD 180m round for Singapore-based omnichannel home interiors renovation platform Livspace at a valuation of at least USD 1bn.
Jungle Ventures, Venturi Partners, Peugeot Investments, and Ingka Group Investments, part of Sweden's Ikea, also participated. The round, billed as a Series F, brings total funding to date to around USD 460m, according to AVCJ Research.
TPG Growth and Goldman Sachs joined a USD 90m Series D in 2020 with support from Venturi, Ingka, Peugeot, Bessemer Ventures, EDBI, and Switzerland's Kharis Capital. An additional contribution came from UC-RNT Fund, a vehicle set up by India's Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata and the University of California.
The Livspace platform provides homeowners with end-to-end interiors-related services, from design to the management of last-mile fulfilment. The aim is to organise a fragmented industry with various contractors into a simplified e-commerce-like customer experience.
Operations extend across Singapore, Malaysia, and 30 metro and non-metro areas in India. The company claims to be growing exponentially in these regions, having delivered around 100,000 rooms and sold 7.5 million stock-keeping units to date.
In 2020, Livspace recorded a gross revenue run rate of USD 200m and set plans to hit USD 500m within 30 months. It claimed that revenue quadrupled and margin doubled between the Series C and D rounds.
The plan for the latest round is to grow the business 10x "in the coming duration" by partnering with digital brands, launching new products, and entering new markets across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and North Africa.
The fresh capital will also support growth in existing markets, technology development, strategic investment. In December. Livspace acquired a majority stake in Qanvast, a Singapore-based home remodelling and design platform that connects homeowners and home professionals.
Competitors in this space include India's HomeLane, which claimed to have around 20,000 customers in 18 cities as of a USD 50m Series E round in September last year. HomeLane uses technologies such as an all-virtual 3D design tool to promise "dream homes" to first-time customers within 45 days.
"Livspace is solving a complicated, multi-stakeholder problem which requires a mix of sophisticated software applications, strong execution capability, and a consumer-centric approach," Louis Casey, KKR's growth technology lead in Southeast Asia, said in a statement.
"We believe that over time, this combination of competencies will build a strong competitive advantage that will see Livspace extend its leadership position, enter new markets and broaden its offerings."
KKR said it was investing as part of its Asia next-generation technology strategy, noting that Livspace was its largest growth tech commitment in Asia. The private equity firm's previous commitments under this theme include Indian eyewear retailer Lenskart, which raised USD 220m last year at a valuation of USD 2.5bn.
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