Member Article

On-demand valet startup dubbed 'the future of parking' raises six-figure funding

Vallie, the on-demand valet parking service, has announced it has raised $750k (approx. £568k) in seed funding as it looks to continue its expansion across the capital.

The round was led by early-stage tech investors SAATCHiNVEST as well as the London Co-Investment Fund and Danny Kessler, Chief Executive Officer at financial services firm Met Group.

Founded in 2015 by entrepreneurial pair Nash Islam and Robin Doble, Vallie allows customers to drop their car anywhere in Central London where it can be collected by a driver and parked in a secure location.

Offering both a consumer and commercial models, Vallie users can have their car returned to them within 15 minutes while businesses can also offer the app as an employee benefit where parking is scarce or unavailable.

The firm’s reach across the capital is now five-times larger than when they started and they claim to offer parking at rates 40% lower than the average car park, along with more general concierge services including car washes, MOT checks and fuel refills.

Leo Castellanos, Partner at SAATCHiNVEST believes the startup has a big future in front of it and that it sits comfortably at the bisection of a number of converging trends in transport, tech and smart city innovations.

He said: “SAATCHiNVEST backs big ideas that change the world in elegant yet simple ways. We love what Vallie are doing and are impressed with their overall customer experience.

“We see untapped potential and believe Vallie is not only the future of parking, but also very relevant to the way communities and cars converge in the ongoing forging of smart cities “

Co-founder Nash Islam is the former Head of Mobile Operations at Google and has a wealth of entrepreneurial and angel investing experience.

Touching upon the inspiration behind the service he said: “London is one of the most difficult and expensive places to park in the world. Our customers love Vallie and the services we provide.

“It’s not just parking, it’s about improving the entire car owner experience and make driving into London work for both the driver and the city. Vallie’s model can work well in almost any city across the world. This round allows Vallie to deliver on that potential immediately.”