Spain / Portugal: Professional luggage management service company LUGGit has sealed a €1.8 million financing round with three investment funds focused on Portuguese companies.
The deal was led by GED Ventures Portugal and Caixa Capital, funds that were accompanied by Portugal Ventures, an investor that has previously backed the company.
Founded in 2019, the Portuguese company dedicated to picking up, storing and delivering luggage at the time and place its users choose. LUGGit started its operations initially in Lisbon and Porto and is now poised for further growth.
After redesigning and redefining its approach in 2021, LUGGit has achieved agreements with more than 2,000 owners and managers of tourist accommodations and expanded its services to five European cities located in three different countries.
In 2022, it began operating in Prague and Barcelona, an international expansion that culminated with the opening in Madrid in July 2023. The expansion meant that LUGGit could reach more than 10,000 users, as well as gain more than double its 2022 revenue during this financial year.
Having managed more than 50,000 pieces of luggage since its beginning, LUGGit aims to offer a quality service that enables owners and managers of tourist accommodations who lack warehousing to offer a complete experience to their guests, who can then explore a city like a local without luggage being an impediment.
Ricardo Figueiredo, co-founder and CEO of LUGGit, said: “The key to our success consists of keeping excellence and customer satisfaction as our essence. A principle that investors have valued and that, thanks to their collaboration and trust, allows us to continue advancing in our expansion plan, which aims to open markets in seven new European cities located in three different countries and increase our staff with eight more people over the next year.”
Francisco Lino Marques, partner and member of the board of directors of GED Ventures Portugal, said: “LUGGit is one of the most promising Portuguese startups in logistics tech, so this investment will allow us to accelerate its technological development, positioning this solution as one of the most innovative in the tourism sector.”
Pedro Rangel, chairman of the board of directors of Caixa Capital, said: “With this investment, Caixa Capital reinforces its strategy of supporting national entrepreneurs whose projects are focused on the development of innovative and high potential products and services oriented to the global market. In the specific case of LUGGit, we have identified a differentiating opportunity to transform and improve the tourist experience, associated with the transport and storage of luggage through an app.”
Pedro Mello Breyner, CEO of Portugal Ventures, said: “Portugal Ventures invested in LUGGit in 2019, shortly after they started operating in Lisbon and Porto. Since then, we have been proud to accompany the team, an example of resilience and overcoming even in pandemic years.
“With a presence in some of the most touristic cities in Europe, this investment round is an important step for the team of promoters to implement the reinforcement of its internationalisation strategy, which will allow the company to grow in qualified human resources and will contribute to improve the visibility of Portugal as an example of good practices in the promotion of entrepreneurship,” he added.
LUGGit plans to use the funding to continue with its expansion strategy into new markets, as well as the growth of services it already offers in existing locations.
The latest financing round takes LUGGit’s total funding to date to €2.2 million, having previously raised €400,000 in a pre-seed round in December 2019 led by Portugal Ventures.
