StrollMe raises €22 million in equity and debt to grow its children's product subscription fleet
The Frankfurt company rents strollers, bikes and car seats on subscription in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. Revenue grew about 70% in 2025, but it could not keep popular models in stock.
StrollMe, a Frankfurt-based provider of subscription children's mobility products, has closed a €22 million financing round combining equity and debt, the company said in a press release on 29 October.
Existing investors Hanse Ventures, HGDF, JOSS and business angel Kristina Schreiner invested again. BMH Beteiligungs-Managementgesellschaft Hessen joined as a new investor through its Hessen Kapital I fund, and London-based Growth Credit Partners provided a credit facility.
The round
StrollMe did not disclose how the €22 million splits between equity and debt, and it did not publish a valuation, as Startbase noted. The company says the money will support growth in its current markets and lay the groundwork for expansion into other European countries.
The startup was founded in early 2020 by Timon Beutel and Sebastian Reichelt. It offers children's bikes, balance bikes, strollers, car seats and accessories on flexible subscription, with brands such as Woom, Bugaboo, Doona, Nuna and Thule, matched to a child's age.
Demand outran supply
According to the company, revenue grew by about 70% in 2025. But popular models were in short supply, so StrollMe could not fully meet demand. The new capital will expand the rental fleet, broaden the range and improve availability.
"This financing is a milestone for StrollMe," said co-founder and CEO Sebastian Reichelt in the release. He said the mix of equity and the credit facility would let the company significantly expand its fleet and build its position in Europe "step by step and in a capital-efficient manner".
A circular model
StrollMe's business is built on reuse. After each subscription, products are professionally refurbished and rented again. The company says it has completed more than 100,000 rentals since its founding. At the end of their rental life, products are fully overhauled and sold by sister brand Kiddly.
Lena Lang, Senior Investment Manager at BMH, said the circular economy needs business models that scale, and that StrollMe shows "use instead of own" works for children's products. BMH, based in Wiesbaden, says it has invested in more than 500 companies since 2001.
Growth Credit Partners, founded in 2022, is a Europe-focused private credit fund. The company's release says GCP typically provides €20 million to €100 million. EU-Startups set the round alongside other recent subscription and asset-backed financings in Europe, including Raylo and Everphone.
Why debt fits this kind of startup
Software companies can add customers at little extra cost. A rental company cannot. Every new subscriber needs a physical product that must be bought up front and paid back over several rental cycles. When demand grows quickly, so does the need for cash, even if the business is healthy.
That is why fleet-based models often pair equity with asset-backed or growth credit. Debt is usually cheaper than selling shares, so founders keep more ownership. The catch is that the economics must hold: utilisation, rental duration, refurbishment costs and resale value all have to cover interest and repayments. Startbase pointed out that the model also competes with second-hand marketplaces that parents already use widely.
What it means for founders and investors
For founders building hardware-as-a-service, rental or circular businesses, StrollMe's round is a practical template: prove demand, show repeat use of each asset, then use credit to scale the fleet. Regional public investors such as BMH can also play a role alongside private VCs.
Interest rates matter here. The European Central Bank held its deposit rate at 2.50% on the same day, but markets expect further hikes, and higher rates make fleet financing more expensive. For investors, the key questions are asset life, residual value and how much of the growth is funded by debt.
Germany has produced several asset-heavy consumer subscription companies, and investors have become more selective about them. StrollMe's claim of 70% revenue growth and more than 100,000 rentals gives it a track record to point to as it looks at new markets. The company has not named specific target countries or a timeline.
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