Luup, Japan’s No.1 Micromobility Sharing Operator, Raises a Total of 3 Billion Yen
Number of stations surpasses 10,000, becoming the largest in the industry (*1). Accelerates business expansion in response to strong demand
Luup, Inc. (Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Daiki Okai; hereinafter “Luup”) has raised 3 billion yen through debt financing. Of this amount, 1.5 billion yen is in the form of a green loan (2). With this funding, Luup’s cumulative funds raised amount to approximately 16.6 billion yen, also making it the first in the micromobility industry (3) to secure financing through a green loan in Japan. Luup will utilize the funds to accelerate business expansion in response to increasing demand.
*1: Based on Luup’s research. Compared with publicly available information on the number of stations nationwide by micromobility sharing service providers as of July 2024.
*2: A loan used when companies procure funds necessary for projects that contribute to solving environmental issues (hereinafter “Green Projects”). Specifically: (1) the use of the procured funds is limited to Green Projects; (2) the funds are reliably tracked and managed; and (3) transparency is ensured through post-loan reporting on these matters.
*3: Based on Luup’s research from the Green Finance Portal of the Ministry of the Environment.
Luup aims to “create an infrastructure that turns the entire city into a ‘station front'” as its mission, striving to build new transportation infrastructure through sharing services of electric, compact, single-person micromobility. Currently, the number of LUUP stations has surpassed 10,000, making it the largest in the domestic share-micromobility industry (*1). As a company responsible for short-distance transportation infrastructure through micromobility, we will continue to expand the number of vehicles, stations, and service areas. In addition, by collaborating with police and local governments to promote traffic rules and safety measures, we aim to evolve into a service that all city residents can use with peace of mind.
The funds raised will be utilized to purchase micromobility vehicles, which are classified as clean means of transportation, thereby contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions from mobility.
Overview of Financing and Participating Financial Institutions (Titles Omitted)
- Syndicated loan of 1.5 billion yen via a “Green Loan” arranged by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (*4)
- Loan of 1 billion yen from Mizuho Bank, Ltd.
- Loan of 500 million yen from Aozora Bank, Ltd.
Participating Financial Institutions in the Syndicated Loan:
- Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
- The Shoko Chukin Bank, Ltd.
- Resona Bank, Limited
- The Kiyo Bank, Ltd.
- The Bank of Kyoto, Ltd.
- The 77 Bank, Ltd.
- The Joyo Bank, Ltd.
- RICOH LEASING COMPANY, LTD.
*4: A financing method where multiple financial institutions form a syndicate to meet the customer’s financing needs, providing loans under the same conditions based on a single loan agreement.
Comments from Major Financial Institutions
– Masanori Fujima, Executive Officer, General Manager, Sustainable Solution Dept., of SMBC
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) has arranged a syndicated green loan based on the “Green Loan Framework” formulated by Luup. This marks SMBC’s first instance of sustainable finance utilizing venture debt.
This loan has received the highest rating of “Green1” from the Japan Credit Rating Agency, Ltd. (JCR) as a third-party evaluation confirming its alignment with the “Green Loan Principles (2023 Edition)” established by international financial industry organizations—the Loan Market Association (LMA), the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA), and the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association (APLMA)—as well as the “Green Loan and Sustainability Linked Loan Guidelines (2022 Edition)” formulated by the Ministry of the Environment.
In addition to this green loan, we are comprehensively supporting environmental impact reduction efforts and the company’s growth by providing “Sustana,” a CO2 emissions visualization service, and facilitating the carbon offsetting of mobility rides through J-Credit purchase services.
– Masato Kaneda, Operating Officer of Mizuho Bank, Ltd.
Luup is contributing to enhancing real estate value as a leasing item in the property sector, while functioning as new transportation infrastructure through the sharing of e-scooters under the mission to “create an infrastructure that turns the entire city into a ‘station front.'”
We feel that the widespread adoption of LUUP expands people’s range of movement, increases various options in their modes of behavior, and enriches their lives. Moreover, we understand that these results have been realized precisely because they have long been committed to creating a safe and secure framework.
Mizuho has recently established a new financing facility to support the future growth of Luup.
We hope that this will support Luup’s goal to “create an infrastructure that turns the entire city into a ‘station front.'”
Mizuho will continue to support Luup as they strive toward a sustainable society.
About Luup, Inc. (URL: https://luup.sc/)
- Location: AKIHABARA CENTRAL SQUARE 4F, 3-21-24 Kanda-Sakumachō, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0025
- Representative: Daiki Okai
- Founded: July 2018
- App Store: https://ride-your-city.luup.sc/Myjb/cfcdb04a
Note: The LUUP app is compatible with devices running iOS 16 or later, iPhone 8 or later (except iPhone SE 1st generation), and Android OS 10.0 or later.
Note: The company name is displayed as “Luup, Inc.” and the service name is displayed as “LUUP.”
Press Contact
- Public Relations: Misato Matsumoto, Megumi Muramoto
- E-mail: pr@luup.co.jp
- For press inquiries: Please contact us by using the contact form at the bottom of our corporate website (https://luup.sc/) and selecting “For the Press and Media”.
- For service inquiries: https://support.luup.sc/hc/ja/requests/new
