StreetHub Raises Further $2.6M, Launches Trouva To Curate And Sell Items From Indie Shops And Boutiques

StreetHub, the U.K. startup that’s helping independent shops and boutiques be discovered and sell online — including offering ‘click and collect’ functionality via its mobile app and 90 minute local delivery — has raised a further $2.6 million in funding.

It’s also launching a new brand and consumer-facing offering: Trouva is an e-commerce site that promises to curate and make available items to buy from its 350-strong network of independent shops and boutiques.

Whereas the original StreetHub premise was an online to offline play — designed primarily to drive more footfall and sales to local stores — Trouva acts as a pure e-retailer in that it lets you purchase items regardless of your location, including offering U.K. and international delivery.

(Noteworthy, the StreetHub domain now re-directs to www.trouva.com, so I’m going to chalk this up as a pivot.)

The new round of funding was led by previous backer Octopus Ventures, with participation from Index Ventures (also a previous backer), Playfair Capital and various angel investors. It brings total raised for the 2013 founded startup to $3.8 million.

StreetHub says the investment will be used to support the launch and promotion of the new Trouva brand and website, as well as to build out the StreetHub platform.

In a statement, Mandeep Singh, co-founder of StreetHub, said: “We’ve seen huge success with our iPhone app launch last year, with over 40,000 customers using the app to discover and purchase from independent shops in their local vicinity. This is how we identified the compelling opportunity to also serve people who are keen to discover shops which are a little further afield too, and offer worldwide shipping.”