Press release
Hästnet acquires the UK's largest market for pets, Pets4Homes, and welcomes new investors
· Stockholm, Sweden
Hästnet announces the acquisition of the UK's largest pet classifieds site, with 4 million users per month. The purchase also includes Petforums, the UK's largest forum for everything related to pets. The acquisition is part of Hästnet's strategy to become the leading marketplace in Europe for horses and pets.
Founded in 2005, Pets4Homes has become synonymous with finding a best friend online in the UK, whether dogs, cats, horses, fish, birds, reptiles or small animals. By requiring sellers to meet strict animal welfare standards, Pets4Homes has built a trusted marketplace with a leading position. According to the Great British Puppy Survey, every third person in the UK has found their puppy on Pets4Homes, a significantly larger share than any other channel in the country.
In connection with the acquisition, Hästnet takes in new capital from recognised marketplace investors such as Verdane, Otiva (Jonas Nordlander and Filip Engelbert, founders of Avito) and Back in Black, as well as from existing investors.
"Since we bought Hästnet last year, we've built a new organisation, launched a new platform and apps for iOS and Android, and more than doubled traffic and revenue. We look forward to implementing the same growth agenda for Pets4Homes, which shares Hästnet's incredibly committed and loyal user base. With this group of recognised investors supporting us, who have made similar journeys before, we will be able to accelerate our already ambitious growth plans."
Hästnet was founded in 2001 and has grown to become the Nordic region's largest marketplace for equestrian sports and Sweden's largest hobby site, with more than 20 million page views per month. Hästnet makes it easy for a million people interested in horses to buy and sell horses, equipment, horse-related services and horse farms, in an industry with a turnover of more than SEK 72 billion per year according to the National Horse Foundation.
The pace of development at Hästnet has been high: a new platform launched in December, a digital purchase contract in May and apps for iOS and Android in June. Thanks to Hästnet's large user base, the app quickly climbed into Sweden's top 10 most downloaded apps.
About Hästnet
Hästnet was founded in 2001 in Lindesberg and has grown to become the largest marketplace for equestrian sport in the Nordic region. Since August 2019, Hästnet also owns Pets4Homes, the UK's largest pet marketplace with more than 4 million active users per month. Hästnet is owned and operated by, among others, Axel Lagercrantz, Eyass Shakrah, Verdane, Otiva, Christian Jochnick and Eric Rydman, Back in Black, Per Brilioth and Björn von Sivers, Torbjörn Folkesson and Ashley Heppenstall.