This latest round is led by Octopus Ventures with participation from Simon Venture Group and existing investors Balderton, MMC, Meyer Bergman and Playfair Capital. Additionally, Rebecca Hunt from Octopus Ventures will be joining the board.

Appear Here's funding will be used to expand internationally to top global retail cities, grow the executive team with key senior hires and build out the data science component of the platform to give brands and landlords greater access to smart insights to drive decision making. To date, Appear Here has raised $21.4 million in funding.

Founded in London in 2013 by then-20-year-old Ross Bailey, the company's user base has grown 8X since its last funding round, totalling more than 80,000 brands, including Google, Kanye West, Spotify and Nike and 1000's more emerging designers and independent brands using the platform to look for space. More than 1,000 landlords like Simon Property Group, Brookfield and Blackstone have signed on to exclusively lease space for short-term rentals. Appear Here already lists 2X the square footage in New York than all of the department stores in the city combined and 10M square feet globally.

Appear Here's mission is to build a global marketplace where anyone, anywhere in the world can bring their ideas to life. In the era where e-commerce is preferred by many and millennials see experiences as the ultimate luxury, Appear Here gives brands the ability to breathe life back into the once-bustling retail streets by filling vacant stores with exciting and original ideas.

Appear Here's marketplace makes it easy for everyone from global brands to first-time entrepreneurs to book retail space and launch their ideas by combining the convenience of online listings with transparent pricing (the first of its kind in commercial real estate), insights from real-time data in an easy-to-use dashboard and a world-class concierge team.

"With our international expansion, we're excited to continue to build deep relationships in the top retail cities around the world," says founder and CEO, Ross Bailey. "Appear Here is the world leader at what we do and this is the perfect time for us to scale. We've got offices in London, Paris and New York, and now we're looking forward to launching more tools and opening up new locations for our growing community to take their ideas to the next level."

Rebecca Hunt, Investment Manager of Octopus Ventures, who will join the Appear Here board of directors says, "At Octopus Ventures, we're focused on backing unusually talented entrepreneurs, and Appear Here is the perfect fit for us. Appear Here entirely transformed the market for commercial rental space. We look forward to supporting Ross and the team in the next stage of their journey."

"Simon Ventures is focused on supporting dynamic founders who are leading next gen commerce through innovative experiences and transformative technologies," said Natalie Hwang, Managing Director of Simon Ventures. "Beyond serving as a vector for behavior change, Appear Here allows brands to leverage space and drive experiences that can best establish connections in the digital age. We are excited to support Ross in his efforts."

About Appear Here
Appear Here is the leading global marketplace for short-term retail space. It connects brands, retailers, designers and entrepreneurs with available space, seamlessly online. Launched in February 2013, by 20-year-old Ross Bailey, Appear Here has become the go-to destination to make creative, retail ideas happen. More than 80,000 major brands like Nike, Loewe, Givenchy, Coca-Cola, Net-a-Porter and Kanye West use Appear Here.

Over 4,000 exclusive spaces have been listed on Appear Here in the UK and France, and as of April 2017, Appear Here has added New York's top neighborhoods like Nolita, Soho, West Village, Chelsea and Williamsburg to its global network of spaces. The company also works with leading retailers like TOPSHOP to list space in their flagship stores.