There’s a new wave of “rollup startups” in Europe, buying up older businesses — just like traditional PE firms do — and then deploying their software across them.
The strategy allows companies to acquire customers in markets quickly and, in some cases, gain from the reputation of the local businesses and the referrals that come with them, keeping marketing costs low. More on the reasons behind the trend here. (LINK)
We’ve listed the startups below that are buying and rolling up smaller companies. This is not an exhaustive list — get in touch if you have other names that fit the bill.
Health Hero
Founded: 2019
HQ: London
Funding: $198m
UK startup Health Hero is a telehealth provider that offers virtual GP services, a workplace mental health programme, workplace health insurance and digital prescriptions, among other things.
The startup has acquired a number of European telemedicine companies, including French telemedicine provider Qare in April 2021 and digital triage and video consultation startup Doctorlink in 2020. It operates in France, Germany and Ireland.
Cera Health
Founded: 2016
HQ: London
Funding: $470m
Cera provides care to people at home and delivers some of its services through partnerships with the NHS. The startup raised $320m in 2022 and announced a fresh $150m in debt and equity in January.
When Cera expands into a new location, it sometimes does so through acquiring an existing home healthcare company, typically a small family business. It has built patient management software that it rolls out to acquired companies.
1Komma5
Founded: 2021
HQ: Hamburg
Funding: $968m
German solar unicorn 1Komma5 has built a marketplace to buy and install carbon-neutral energy systems like solar panels and heat pumps. It also offers software to optimise consumption and bring down energy bills.
Its business model partially rests on rolling up companies that employ electricians and other trades that can sell and install their products, in order to reach more customers.
1Komma5 has operations in Germany, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain and Australia.
Avi Medical
Founded: 2020
HQ: Munich
Funding: $97m
Munich-based healthcare platform Avi Medical pairs telehealth services with physical clinics, and acquires existing practices to do so. It’s backed by Balderton Capital, UiPath founder Daniel Dines, Berlin’s Heal Capital and Paris-based Eurazeo, among others.
Dwelly
Founded: 2023
HQ: London
Funding: Unknown
London-based Dwelly buys up estate agents and then uses AI to streamline lettings and property management. It has bought up two estate agents so far, bringing thousands of properties under its management in the process. CEO Ilya Drozdov and CTO Kmitry Khankov both worked at Uber previously.
Patient21
Founded: 2019
HQ: Berlin
Funding: $212m
Patient21 is a digi-physical health platform which acquires and outfits dental clinics and rolls out its appointment booking and patient data software across them. The startup also provides a patient-facing health platform, allowing them to view their digital case history, access diagnosis and plan treatment.
The company builds its own clinics too — about 10 of the 45 clinics it owns were built from scratch — but M&A is a tool that helps the company roll out its software, and reach more customers, faster.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/europes-pe-style-rollup-startups/
