Auro Group, advised by Alantra, obtains a €50Mn long-term financing contract to develop its business plan in Spain

Madrid, December 10, 2018 – Auro Group, a start-up business on the transportation sector, has signed a senior and convertible financing agreement for an amount of €50 million. The contract will support the company in the execution of its strategic plan, offering flexibility in the repayment schedule of its debt.

Auro Group owns around 2,700 VTC licenses in the main cities of Spain (Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia). The company founded in 2017 by three young entrepreneurs (Félix Ruiz, Hugo Arévalo and Zaryn Dentzel) who have extensive experience in the launch and management of successful businesses such as Tuenti, Jobandtalent or Hawkers, and Jose Antonio Parrondo, which has an extensive experience in the Taxi sector.

Auro Group has a 45,000 square meters facility in Madrid, where the company has managed to develop a fleet management system, applying the technological know-how developed in other companies. The facilities have a training center for drivers, washing system, mechanics workshop, paint and a control room for vehicles. All this handled with software created “in house” that allows an optimal management of the processes. The group is betting on clean energy and has electric vehicles and LPG, with service stations within the facilities. The company is developing new facilities in Barcelona, replicating the success of the Madrid.

This financing operation has been achieved at a time of regulatory uncertainty, after the “Royal Decree 13/2018” on land transport regulations, regarding the leasing of vehicles with drivers. Auro Group has obtained alternative financing to undertake its strategic plan, which demonstrates the soundness of the business model and the change in the mobility of large cities.

Auro Group has introduced an innovative model in urban transport. In addition, it has allowed the creation of more than 3,000 jobs and a remuneration system that prioritizes the efficiency and attention of drivers, thanks to the driver appraisal model through the Cabify application.

The signing of the financing operation in which Alantra acted as sole adviser, is, according to the Director of Operations, Jaime Banús, “an essential aid to complete the implementation of the company’s investment plan during 2019. The company needs the necessary infrastructure to continue growing in Spain, through the consolidation of a highly atomized sector. Economies of scale are very necessary in this sector and Auro Group is prepared to be a consolidator of this sector “.