Australia-Based Peer-to-Peer Self-Storage Operator Spacer Raises $2.7M, Buys Parkhound

Spacer.com.au Pty. Ltd. of Australia, a peer-to-peer self-storage marketplace, has raised $2.7 million in funding that it will use to acquire competitor Parkhound and pursue other expansion opportunities. The purchase will add 55,000 customers and 10,000 parking spaces to Spacer’s growing network, though Parkhound will continue to operate under its own brand, according to the source.

Parkhound co-founders Robert Crocitti and Michael Nuciforo will move to advisory roles after the transition is complete.

"The focus is to move into working with commercial operators, be it in parking or property, to help them monetize their excess capacity," Spacer CEO Michael Rosenbaum told the source. "Right now, we're also focused on bedding down the acquisition and continuing to grow in the U.S. But longer term, we have global ambitions; and we have a partnership and a strategic alliance with Costockage in Europe."

Costockage is a Paris-based peer-to-peer storage business. The companies partnered in April 2016 to jointly expand service to Asia. In March, Spacer acquired U.S.-based Roost Shared Storage Inc., which launched its peer-to-peer service in San Francisco in 2014. Spacer’s U.S. presence also includes Boston and New York.

"With cities becoming increasingly densified through urbanization, many new apartment builds are only allocating one parking space for a two-bedroom unit, making parking rentals high in demand along with self-storage," Rosenbaum said. "We're seeing really strong demand, and it outstrips supply by a multiple."

Spacer’s expansion plans include entry into Chicago and Washington, D.C. The company has been growing 20 percent per month for more than a year and raised more than $5 million, according to the source.

Spacer enables people in need of storage to find available space in their local area from businesses and homeowners. All rental payments are made through Spacer, which collects a 15 percent commission. The company raised $1.2 million from angel and private investors in October 2015.