Rover Group Acquires Cat-Centric Sitting Marketplace, Cat In A Flat
Rover, a leading online marketplace for pet care, has announced it has acquired Cat In A Flat, a trusted cat-sitting community created by cat lovers for cat lovers. The acquisition expands Rover’s European footprint into Switzerland, Belgium, Austria and Ireland, in addition to the ten countries currently served by the Rover marketplace.
Since 2014, Cat In A Flat has grown its cat sitting community to more than 50,000 care providers, who’ve provided two million visits across nine countries. The mission alignment of Cat In A Flat and Rover—making it easier for people to experience the unconditional love of pets–will allow Rover to accelerate Cat In A Flat’s ability to meet the unique needs of cat parents searching for cat care across Europe. This development builds on the momentum of Rover’s current European operations which account for its fastest growing segment of new customer acquisition globally. It also highlights Rover’s efforts in continuing to expand into new markets abroad.
“Today’s announcement marks another exciting milestone in Rover’s European expansion,” said Brent Turner, COO and president of Rover. “We’re thrilled to have Cat In A Flat join the Rover Group family, which allows us to offer a dedicated product for cats and their people. We believe there is a significant opportunity ahead for us to better serve the needs of cat parents globally and look forward to supporting Cat In A Flat in its journey.”
“We are excited to join Rover in the common goal to offer bespoke pet-loving care across Europe and believe our additional expertise in cat care supported by our cat-loving community will make this journey a great success and will bring cat- and dog-lovers together through our partnership,” said Kathrin Burckhardt, co-founder of Cat In A Flat.
Cat In A Flat will continue to operate as its own brand and entity, led by founders Julie Barnes and Kathrin Burckhardt, backed by the support of Rover, its leadership and 13+ years of experience scaling its marketplace globally.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Herbert Smith Freehills LLP acted as legal counsel to Rover. Joelson LLP acted as legal counsel to Cat In A Flat and Torch Partners acted as financial advisor to Cat In A Flat.