Grosvenor Group backs retail tech startup NearSt
NearSt, a British retail technology venture that aims to drive more people onto the high street, has pulled in £2 million in seed funding from international property company Grosvenor Group.
The London-based company, which was founded in 2015, has now raised £5 million in total.
This is Grosvenor Group’s first direct investment into the tech sector. NearSt’s technology is now in use across its Mayfair and Belgravia estate, with plans to expand internationally.
“The funding comes at a time of seismic shifts in how we shop and what it means to be a retailer.” says NearSt Co-founder Nick Brackenbury.
He adds: “We all know that the pandemic has driven shopping behaviours online; what’s often overlooked are the millions of people now going online to search for things locally on the high street.”
“Online shopping is often positioned as the death knell for the high street. We think it’s far from this, and will rather be the foundation of a vibrant and healthy future for bricks and mortar shops.”
Ian Mair, Managing Director of Digital Innovation at Grosvenor Group, comments: “Digital technologies and the changing customer expectations will radically change the property industry over the next decade.”
“This is a multi-billion dollar market that technology has barely touched, and NearSt has the potential to truly transform how we all interact with physical retail.”