In December, Waterford-based waste industry technology company Kollect debuted on the Nasdaq First North in Stockholm.
The start-up, which offers an on-demand service for rubbish collection, has raised €1.76m in its IPO, which the company decided to launch instead of seeking funding through more traditional start-up methods.
The business chose Stockholm’s Nasdaq First North as the Swedish stock exchange is focused on smaller businesses and tech start-ups that are seeking funding to grow and expand.
Commenting on the listing, Kollect CEO John O’Connor said: “This IPO is a great milestone for the company and moves us one step closer to our mission of making it simple for customers to have waste collected and recycled globally, whilst enabling a more sustainable world.”
Kollect’s service
The company’s on-demand waste collection service works in partnership with existing waste collectors in Ireland and the UK, giving those businesses an additional source of revenue for a small charge paid to Kollect. Customers can use the online platform to have waste collected on any day of the week, up to 11pm on weeknights.
The company collects regular household waste, such as recyclable, general and compostable waste, as well as larger items such as washing machines, mattresses and other types of furniture. Additionally, Kollect offers container and skip hire.
The company has also developed a parking space-sized bin that can be found at certain Circle K locations around Ireland, where anybody can deposit household waste for a small fee. This product, called the BigBin, costs €8 for two general waste bags or €5 for two bags of recyclable waste.
What’s next?
In November, Kollect held a briefing in Dublin to discuss its intention to proceed with an IPO on Sweden’s Nasdaq First North, a process the company started in June 2019.
At the briefing, O’Connor said that the business generated revenue of €2.4m in 2018, and in the first nine months of 2019, the company exceeded that, generating €2.5m.
Prior to launching its IPO, Kollect had raised €150,000 in equity capital, which now brings the total raised by the company to more than €1.9m. Ahead of the IPO, the company had hoped to raise €2.5m in order to have a post-money valuation of €7.5m.
With the money raised in the IPO, Kollect plans to expand in the UK from a new Manchester base. At the briefing in Dublin, the company said that Ireland will not be the main market that Kollect is targeting going forward.
Kelly Earley
This article first appeared on www.siliconrepublic.com and can be found at:
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/start-ups/kollect-ipo-nasdaq-first-north-sweden
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