Urban
Urban is a UK-headquartered mobile wellness marketplace, founded in 2014, connecting consumers with 4,000+ vetted therapists for on-demand at-home massage, beauty, osteopathy, and physiotherapy services across seven cities in the UK and France.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Urban does
Urban (legal entity: Urban Massage Limited) is a UK-headquartered, privately held mobile wellness marketplace founded in 2014 by Jack Tang and Giles Williams. The platform connects consumers with a network of more than 4,000 pre-vetted independent wellness professionals who deliver on-demand treatments — including massage (deep tissue, sports, pregnancy, injury management, relaxation), beauty services (manicures, pedicures, facials, waxing, lashes, brows), osteopathy, physiotherapy, and pregnancy-specific care — directly to the customer's home or office between 7am and 11pm daily. Urban's core technical product is a two-sided mobile marketplace comprising a consumer booking app/website and a separate Urban Pro app used by therapists for scheduling, earnings tracking, and client messaging.
The company generates revenue by taking a 30-40% commission on each booking plus 100% of client tips, on a fully transactional pay-as-you-go basis with no subscription or contract requirements. Pricing varies by city and time-of-day, with peak windows (weekday evenings, weekends) priced higher than off-peak slots. Urban operates across seven cities — London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow (United Kingdom) and Paris (France) — and reports over one million cumulative treatments delivered, more than 200,000 customers in London alone, and over 10,000 five-star reviews on Trustpilot with a 4.9/5 average therapist rating. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via owned digital channels (website, iOS and Android apps), supported by organic social media, content marketing, and a £15 refer-a-friend programme.
Urban's go-to-market is product-led: customers self-serve bookings with same-day availability and therapists reachable in as little as 60 minutes. The platform's primary defensibility rests on its scaled supply-side network, a multi-step Pro Vetting and Safety System (background checks, qualification and insurance verification, in-app GPS tracking, 24/7 support), and a nascent Urban for Teams corporate wellness channel that addresses an enterprise-adjacent segment. Cumulative disclosed venture funding totals approximately $35.7M across nine rounds from 2014 through September 2020, with notable backers including Felix Capital, Passion Capital, ADV, and BNF Capital; the company has also expanded via the acquisitions of MILK Beauty (2017) and Freauty (2018).
Urban firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Urban
- Legal name
- Urban Massage Limited
- Website
- https://urban.co
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Urban is a UK-headquartered mobile wellness marketplace, founded in 2014, connecting consumers with 4,000+ vetted therapists for on-demand at-home massage, beauty, osteopathy, and physiotherapy services across seven cities in the UK and France.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Urban industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Mobile Wellness Marketplace
- NAICS
- Offices of Other Health Practitioners (6213)
- SIC
- Services-Nursing & Personal Care Facilities (8050)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Personal Care & Wellness Booking Platforms (Beauty, Fitness, Spa) (BPAMAHAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Mobile Massage Therapy (HSALAMAF), Mobile Spa & Body Treatments (HSALAMAG)
Keywords
Where Urban is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices6 records
Markets served
Urban business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Service Transaction Fees: Urban takes a 30-40% commission on each booking (pro keeps 60-70% of each booking), plus 100% of client tips. No hidden fees or contracts.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Massage services by city - Off-peak 60-minute session |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Massage services by city - Peak 60-minute session |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Gel manicure at home |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Classic pedicure at home |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Gel pedicure at home |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Hydrating facial at home |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Deep cleanse facial at home |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Express massage |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Injury/pain management massage |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels8 records
Urban product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Urban operates a mobile marketplace platform that connects customers with over 4,000 pre-vetted wellness professionals for at-home massage, beauty, physiotherapy, osteopathy and pregnancy treatments across the UK and Paris. Customers book instantly through the website or mobile apps from 7am-11pm daily, with pros often arriving within 60 minutes, while the company monetizes each booking via a 30-40% transaction commission.
Product overview
Urban is a UK-based mobile wellness platform operating as a marketplace connecting consumers with vetted wellness professionals for at-home treatments. The core offering is a platform that enables booking of massage, beauty, physiotherapy, and osteopathy services delivered at the customer's location. The platform consists of the consumer-facing booking app/website for customers and the Urban Pro app for professionals. The main service categories include massage therapies (deep tissue, sports, pregnancy, relaxation, injury management, and more), beauty treatments (nails, facials, waxing, lashes/brows), and physical health services (osteopathy, physiotherapy). Additional offerings include gift cards, a loyalty programme (Urban Rewards), and a professional partner network for therapists. The company operates across UK cities including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Paris, with services available from 7am to 11pm daily.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Mobile Massage Services On-demand at-home massage therapy connecting users with vetted massage therapists for treatment types including Urban Classic (Swedish-style), deep tissue, sports, pregnancy, relaxing, injury/pain management and express massages, delivered at the customer's chosen location.
- Beauty Services At-home beauty treatments including nails (gel manicures, classic and gel pedicures), facials (deep cleanse, hydrating, youth boost, bespoke, express, pregnancy glow), waxing (Hollywood, Brazilian, full leg, underarm), and lash and brow treatments (lift and tint, lash extensions, brow shaping, brow lamination) delivered by mobile beauty therapists.
- Osteopathy At-home osteopathy consultations and treatments delivered by degree-qualified osteopaths for muscle, joint and bone health issues, including specialist cranial osteopathy.
- Physiotherapy At-home physiotherapy sessions delivered by qualified, pre-vetted mobile physiotherapists for injury recovery, mobility assessment, and physical rehabilitation.
- Pregnancy Services Specialist prenatal and postnatal treatments including pregnancy massage (prenatal and postnatal), pregnancy glow facial, and osteopathy consultation and treatment for expectant and new mothers.
- Gift Cards Digital Urban gift cards allowing recipients to redeem against massage, beauty, osteopathy, physiotherapy or pregnancy services via the platform.
- Urban Pro Platform Platform for independent wellness professionals (massage therapists, beauty therapists, physiotherapists, osteopaths) to apply, get vetted, manage bookings, track earnings, set availability, message clients and receive weekly payouts via the Pro mobile app.
- Urban for Teams (Corporate Wellness) Corporate wellness offering for companies to provide at-home massage and beauty treatments as employee benefits and team relaxation experiences.
Quantifiable outcome
- Massage can reduce stress by 31%
Companies that use Urban
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Urban technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Urban partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Urban competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Treatwell: UK/Europe's leading beauty and wellness booking marketplace connecting consumers with salons, spas, and therapists — directly comparable to Urban on the consumer-side marketplace model, though more venue-based than at-home.
- Blys: On-demand mobile massage, beauty, and wellness platform operating in Australia and India with a vetted-pro marketplace model — directly comparable to Urban in core mobile wellness delivery, geography, and pro economics.
- Soothe: US-based on-demand mobile massage and wellness platform connecting customers with vetted therapists for at-home services — directly comparable business model and service mix to Urban.
- Zeel: Pioneer of on-demand in-home massage in the US with vetted therapists and same-day booking — directly comparable to Urban on mobile massage marketplace mechanics.
- Urban Company (formerly UrbanClap): India/Middle East/Australia on-demand marketplace for at-home beauty, wellness, and home services — directly comparable to Urban on at-home service categories, pro vetting, and marketplace model.
- Glamsquad: US on-demand mobile beauty services (hair, makeup, nails) delivered to customers' homes — directly comparable to Urban on at-home beauty marketplace model.
Broad incumbents
- Fresha: Global beauty and wellness booking platform and SaaS provider for salons and spas — broader incumbent in the same end-customer booking category as Urban, though more venue-centric.
- Booksy: Booking and business management software for beauty and wellness professionals with consumer marketplace — overlapping consumer discovery and scheduling functionality with Urban.
- Mindbody: Large US-based wellness and fitness booking platform serving spas, salons, and fitness studios — overlapping consumer wellness booking category with Urban at a broader, more established scale.
Emerging players
- Priv (priv.co): US mobile beauty services marketplace offering on-demand at-home hair, makeup, and nails — emerging player with direct overlap to Urban's beauty vertical.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Urban social profiles
Digital presenceUrban financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Urban leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Urban funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds10 records
Investors11 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Urban M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A2 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Urban
What does Urban do?
Urban operates a mobile marketplace platform that connects customers with over 4,000 pre-vetted wellness professionals for at-home massage, beauty, physiotherapy, osteopathy and pregnancy treatments across the UK and Paris. Customers book instantly through the website or mobile apps from 7am-11pm daily, with pros often arriving within 60 minutes, while the company monetizes each booking via a 30-40% transaction commission.
Is Urban a public or private company?
Urban is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Urban founded?
Urban was founded in 2014. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Urban based?
Urban is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Urban make money?
One revenue line is on record: service Transaction Fees.
Who are Urban's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Treatwell, Blys, Soothe, Zeel, Urban Company (formerly UrbanClap) and Glamsquad. Broad incumbents are Fresha, Booksy and Mindbody. Priv (priv.co) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Urban have an API?
No public API is recorded for Urban.
What industry is Urban in?
Urban's product category is Mobile Wellness Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAHAF, Personal Care & Wellness Booking Platforms (Beauty, Fitness, Spa), with a secondary code of HSALAMAF, Mobile Massage Therapy. Its NAICS code is 6213 and its SIC code is 8050.