TIER, the European micro-mobility leader, has recently secured $60m (AED220m) of asset-backed financing from Goldman Sachs. The debt facility from the leading investment banking, securities and investment management firm is the first of such scale in micro-mobility and will fuel TIER’s e-scooter fleet expansion for 2021. This debt facility comes as part of TIER’s ongoing plans to broaden its footprint across Europe and the Middle East.
In what is a proven model in the automotive sector, climate-neutral TIER has now unlocked significant asset-backed financing in micro-mobility. The innovative move by Goldman Sachs signals another major vote of confidence in a business that has performed strongly despite the Covid-19 crisis, following TIER’s recent $250m (AED918m) Series-C funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. It also follows news that TIER has won a number of high-profile bids since last year across the Middle East to successfully operate in high-ranking cities such as Dubai, London, Paris and recently Doha.
As well as helping to extend TIER’s international coverage across strategic growth markets and enabling investment in a multi-modal fleet of electric scooters, bicycles and mopeds, the new capital will drive expansion of the TIER Energy Network. With this unique innovation, battery charging stations will be installed in retail stores across Europe and the Middle East to power electric vehicles in a way that drives operational efficiency whilst giving the high street a financial boost and enabling users to enjoy free trips.
Ben Payne, Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, commented: “Even amid a global pandemic, TIER has established a proven track record of profitable unit economics and asset longevity. We are excited to help the European leader extend sustainable mobility to more people across the world.”
Alex Gayer, Chief Financial Officer at TIER, added: “The size of this highly scalable asset-backed debt facility is a game-changing first in micro-mobility, accelerating our expansion and cementing our market leadership in Europe and the Middle East. This facility leverages our recent equity raise and will enhance our capital-efficient growth.”
In recent years, TIER has rapidly expanded its operational footprint across multiple cities in the GCC starting with Abu Dhabi in 2019, Dubai in 2020 and Doha in 2021, with additional cities planned by end of this year. Furthermore, Europe’s micro-mobility leader has lately extended its growing suite of multimodal options to make it one of the first operators in the world to offer riders three different climate-neutral vehicles; e-scooters, e-mopeds and e-bikes.
