Blueground to move into 50 cities by 2023

Expansion plans by Blueground will see the company operating in 50 cities by 2023, COO, partner and Greece country manager Thanos Geramanis told Business Daily.

The company has raised 78 million dollars in capital, is currently present in 12 cities across three continents and is targetting the management of 50,000 apartments by 2023, up from 3,300 today, in 50 cities. Blueground is an example of a successful start-up and managed in 2019 to raise more money than any other Greek start-up, in funds reaching 62.7 million euros.

Blueground manages and offers fully furnished apartments for rent by the month, year or longer. Today, Blueground is present in Athens, London, Paris, Istanbul, Dubai, New York, Boston, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle, with a staff of 500 people, of which 250 are in Athens. The company expects to hire an additional 150 staff members in Athens by the end of 2020.

In comments to Business Daily, Geramanis said that the company covers a significant gap in the market, the lack of high quality furnished apartments for rent. "In just seven years, we have managed to successfully expand into many different markets, win over the trust of hundreds of property owners and renters, triple turnover on an annual basis and most importantly, build a strong team of 500 talented people. All of this in combination with the large size of the market we are aiming at, fills us with optimism and confidence in our bid to meet the target of 50,000 apartments by 2023," he said.  

From 2013 until today, the company raised significant amounts of capital from investors such as VentureFriends, Endeavor Catalyst, Jabbar Internet Group, AlleyCorp, Prime Ventures, and WestCap Capita. In regards to the possibility of seeking fresh capital, Geramanis said that "in 2019 we completed two significant rounds of financing worth 70 million dollars, reaching 78 million dollars in total financing. As a start-up that is expanding at a rapid pace, tripling turnover on annual basis, the search for capital is always a priority and that is why we are continually in contact with different investment groups and private investors, but it is not something that is currently in progress."

In regards to new markets, Geramanis added that "in December 2019, we entered London, Paris, and Seattle. In regards to other target markets, there is a number that we are examining and consider that our business model will operate successfully in."

In Athens, Blueground is the biggest lessee of apartments with a portfolio of more than 600 apartments, while by the end of 2020 this number is seen reaching 1,000. The company mainly looks for apartments in central areas, in the southern and northern suburbs, and in areas where there is strong demand located close to business districts, such as Ampelokipoi, the historic center, Kalimarmaro, Kolonaki, Aghia Paraskevi, Psychiko, Halandri, Paleo Faliro, and Voula.