Furniture rental startup Furlenco raises Rs 20 crore in venture debt from Blacksoil

Blacksoil Capital on 21 January said it has invested Rs 20 crore as venture debt in furniture subscription platform Furlenco. Furlenco has raised close to $51 million in equity funding from investors like Lightbox Ventures, Crescent Ventures, Deepika Padukone and Burman Family Office. It has also raised close to $45 million in debt funding. “The year 2021 will see a new phase of growth for Furlenco. We have a lot of exciting initiatives planned for this year that will unravel over the next six to nine months. We are delighted to have BlackSoil as our latest partner,” Furlenco founder and CEO Ajith Karimpana said in a statement. Founded in 2012 by Ajith Mohan Karimpana, Kieraya Furnishing Solutions - Furlenco has furnished over 150,000 homes across eight major cities in India and has AUM (assets under management) worth over Rs 200 crore. Vaibhav Laddha, Head of Corporate Finance at Furlenco, said the company has built a very strong lender ecosystem over the years, be it venture debt, NBFCs or family offices. “Our subscription business model, high-quality revenue yielding assets, and consistent operating profitability are key factors that make Furlenco an attractive debt proposition for the lenders,” he added. BlackSoil, a sector agnostic alternative credit platform, has deployed Rs 1,000 crore in the last four years across over 80 transactions. Blacksoil’’s past deals include OYO, Spinny, Purplle, Zetwerks, Vogo and TVF, among others. It also recently raised Rs 126 crore in the first close for its maiden secured credit fund. “Furlenco is offering an alternative solution that delivers high value to the customers while providing much-needed flexibility. Subscription model proved to be robust during the COVID period and it is our pleasure to partner with Furlenco to help them achieve the next level of growth,” Blacksoil Group co-founder Ankur Bansal said. With inputs from PTI.