Second-hand photographic and filmmaking marketplace secures £5m from Mobeus and Beringea

London-based Mobeus Equity Partners and Beringea have co-invested in a £5m funding round for mpb.com, a specialist online marketplace for second-hand photographic and filmmaking equipment.

mpb.com facilitates the secondary market for used camera equipment, which has primarily been served by traditional retailers and online generalist marketplaces such as eBay.

Launched in 2011, the Brighton-based company currently facilitates more than 6,000 transactions per month, and is on track to generate £22m in turnover this year at a year-on-year growth rate of more than 60%.

Since its Series A funding round, completed in June 2016, mpb.com has grown from 28 people to a team of 90, with offices in Brighton and New York.

The company will use this latest funding primarily to scale up operations in the US and Germany. As part of the investment round, mpb.com has appointed a new chairman and CFO. FJ Labs, a New York-based specialist investor in marketplace technology companies, also joined the share cap table as part of the round.

Jane Reoch, investment director at Mobeus Equity Partners, said: “We originally backed mpb.com in 2016, and management has demonstrated exceptional growth over the past two years.

“We are delighted to be co-investing with Beringea to provide this exciting business with the further capital to build on its commercial opportunity and first-mover advantage.”

Matt Barker, CEO of mpb.com, commented: “We’re helping photographers and filmmakers access a greater variety of equipment than ever before, with absolute confidence in the quality and value of the items they buy, so that they can make quick and easy changes to their kit bags.

“Transparency of information and consistency of pricing are critical to providing the best possible marketplace experience for customers, and we’re excited to be able to bring this experience to an even bigger market as we continue to grow with this new funding.”

Beringea’s investment in mpb.com follows earlier backing for Watchfinder, an online marketplace for second-hand watches.

Eyal Malinger, investment director at Beringea, added: “We’ve seen that there’s considerable potential in specialist marketplaces for pre-owned high-value products. Buying expensive equipment via online auction sites or classified ad boards is fraught with risk.

“Whether it’s misrepresentation of a product’s condition, missing accessories, or simply poor-quality imagery, it’s hard to know whether you’re getting the right thing at the right price.

“mpb.com’s technology is making these concerns a thing of the past for professional photographers and hobbyists alike - a market that is much bigger than you might think.

“Matt and the rest of the management team have scaled the business impressively over the past two years, and we are looking forward to supporting mpb.com through the next stage of its journey and beyond.”

Looking to promote your product/service to SME businesses in your region? Find out how Bdaily can help →