Long day at work? Do you need a massage? Do you wish it would just come to you?
Well now there’s an app for that. London-based Urban offers on-demand massage, mani-pedi, facial and osteopathy services through its app. You can book an appointment at your home or office, and a practitioner will be there within the hour, anytime from 8am to 11:30pm.
Founded in 2014, Urban has raised a €9 million Series B round to double down on its mission of empowering city-dwellers to prioritise their wellbeing.
This latest round of investment comes at a time when the company is nearing profitability. Led by Accelerated Digital Ventures (ADV), the round will enable Urban to accelerate towards its goal of becoming a one-stop shop for on-demand wellness services. Existing investors Passion Capital and Felix Capital also participated.
To support the expansion, Urban is in the process of recruiting a team of 30 engineers in Lithuania.
“Our new Vilnius office will be instrumental in helping to evolve our service,” said Giles Williams, co-founder and CTO of Urban. “The Lithuania team will work on all aspects of our marketplace platform, including its award-winning client apps, practitioner business software, corporate offering and data science projects.”
In a world where wellness means something different to everyone, Urban cuts through the noise. They make it easy for city-dwellers to take time for treatments that help them feel at their best, be it a rejuvenating facial or a deep tissue massage.
But rather than thinking of these things of one-off rewards, Urban conceives of them as an integral part of wellbeing, unlocking individual potential. That’s why, with more services in the pipeline, their goal is to be the go-to destination for the wellness needs of anyone who lives in a city.
Their philosophy aligns perfectly with major investor ADV, which prioritises longevity over short-term gains.
“Urban is building an ecosystem of wellness offerings for a modern society with a highly varied set of needs,” said Lee Strafford, ADV’s CEO. “We really like Urban’s vision of delivering on consumer needs while making wellness a better business for therapists on the platform. So we’re delighted to partner with the team as they execute on their ambition.”
“We’re excited to partner with ADV in the next stage of our growth and ambition,” said Urban founder Jack Tang. “ADV’s long-term investment philosophy aligns with our plans to grow sustainably and organically, improving our already robust unit economics.”
“We have a super exciting roadmap ahead. Our newly expanded engineering team means we can empower even more wellness practitioners to build thriving, independent businesses with Urban. Our goal is to become the one-stop shop for on-demand wellness services, and with the services we offer today, we’re just getting started.”
Hopefully Urban will also begin to expand its services beyond the UK soon, as the rest of us in Europe could use a massage, too.
