HumanForest, the parent company of eBike operator Forest, has raised a 拢5 million extension to its Series A round as it plans to expand into Europe next year.
The company has quickly grown market share in London since its launch two years ago, growing on average 35% MoM, reaching half a million users and winning licences in 12 boroughs.
It has now secured agreements with Kensington & Chelsea, Westminster and Haringey and will add these to its operational service area.
The total Series A has reached 拢17m and includes equity investment from G眉il Mobility Ventures, Fen Ventures and multiple Cabify executives. It will be invested in technology, further developing the company鈥檚 advertising technology platform and parking compliance software.聽
The AdTech platform connects brands with Forest鈥檚 riders and makes the service more affordable.聽 Brands are advertising with purpose by facilitating the modal shift needed to decarbonise transport.聽聽
The project finance facility was from Triodos Bank UK. This enables Forest to further accelerate expansion of its London fleet to meet growing demand for its services. This follows the highly successful launch of the 鈥楻iver鈥� eBike fleet in August 2023, a charitable partnership of which 5% of ride proceeds go to The Rivers Trust.聽
The firm claims that a trip with Forest is, on average, 50% more affordable over a 20-minute period than its competitors, leading to a strong commuter user base. Over 50% of daily users complete more than one trip daily.聽聽
Lisa Gansky, director of G眉il Mobility Venture fund, will join the company鈥檚 board. “Forest is a perfect example of the type of team, company and impact that g眉il Mobility Ventures is dedicated to funding and supporting,鈥� she said.
鈥淲e are delighted to accelerate Forest鈥檚 reach and capacity to offer affordable, eco-friendly urban mobility for London and beyond. We are confident that partnerships like the one with The Rivers Trust will speed HumanForest鈥檚 growth and impact, enabling the company to deliver sustainable mobility for urban communities globally.”
Amandine Tetot, head of project finance at Triodos Bank UK, said: 鈥淪ince our initial finance arrangement earlier this year, it鈥檚 impressive to see Forest go from strength to strength as it rolls out its fleet to more London boroughs.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 just the kind of forward-thinking company that we want to partner with, as we all work towards net-zero solutions for cities. We are proud that Forest took the opportunity of rolling out new e-bikes to drive awareness of UK waterways and generate funds in support of The Rivers Trust.鈥�