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Perth-based space-sharing platform SpacetoCo has raised $2 million in a pre-Series A round from early-stage funds manager Purpose Ventures, with the fresh capital aimed at taking the community-focused concept to the UK next year.
SpacetoCo, which was founded in 2017 by Daniel McCullen, Jeremy Hurst and Daniel Franco, has already secured a firm footprint in its home state through partnership with local governments, small businesses and community centres but has since expanded into NSW, Victoria and South Australia, as well as New Zealand.
The platform essentially allows the public to access under-utilised spaces, helping organisations increase usage and reduce management administration costs.
SpacetoCo largely targets spaces and venues run by local councils and community groups, with the company currently counting more than 42 per cent metro local governments in Western Australia and 10 per cent of councils across Australia among its users.
After expanding into New Zealand in 2018, SpacetoCo is now looking to the UK where it has already been accepted into the UK Government’s Global Entrepreneurs Program which is designed to help international companies scale from a UK global headquarters.
“We are looking forward to having the Purpose Ventures team on board and working with them as we take SpacetoCo’s growth to the next level,” says McMullen, the SpacetoCo CEO.
“We are proud of the impact that we have had in Australia and NZ, unlocking access to under-utilised spaces and look forward to continuing our expansion into the UK in 2025.”
SpacetoCo expanded across the Tasman in 2018 after securing a partnership with Elle Bell, who at the time was building her own space sharing platform in New Zealand.
“We have known the SpacetoCo team since the company’s inception and have closely followed their progress to date,” says Derek Gerrard, the managing director of Purpose Ventures
“We are excited to have the opportunity to support this fast-growing WA company as it continues to scale.
“The talented founding team have created a strong foothold in the Australian market, and we look forward to being part of their journey as they expand internationally.”
Purpose Ventures, which is also based in Perth, manages $50 million in assets with an “industry agnostic” approach to its investments which target pre-seed to Series B rounds.
Among its current investments are assistive humanoid robot developer Andromeda, precision medicine company GeneS and school administration platform Paperly.
SpacetoCo’s origins stretch back as far as 2015 when Jeremy Hurst first considered sharing spaces at his Perth Hills property, including his garden for small weddings, and expanding the idea to help those without a pool, home office or a barbecue to share one.
The business idea officially became a s startup after Hurst brought McCullen and Franco on board as co-founders with the company since expanding its listings outside of Perth to Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, as well as Auckland.
SpacetoCo, which appeared on SharkTank in 2018, has previously participated in WA’s Plus Eight Accelerator while also securing funding from RAC’s $23 million Betterlabs early-stage venture capital fund.
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