Savills backs hybrid estate agency YOPA in £16m funding round

London-based hybrid estate agency YOPA has raised £16m in funding after securing investment from Grosvenor Hill Ventures, the proprietary investment arm of real estate service giant Savills plc.

As part of the deal, London-headquartered Savills has taken a stake in the growing online estate agency.

Since its launch in January this year, the number of listings on YOPA have doubled each month on average. The company allows people to sell a property for a fixed fee of £780 and has agent and customer service teams operating 24-hours a day.

YOPA’s co-founder and CEO, Daniel Attia, said: “We are immensely proud to have received investment from such a well established company.

“Savills is the UK’s leading brand in property services with substantial global operations and is known for its entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to innovation.”

He added: “Their support, and that of our other investors, puts us in a great position to supercharge our growing market share.”

In addition to the backing from Savills, the six-figure boost included investment from Andrew and Alistair Barclay, two founding members of YOPA, and other strategic investors.

Savills CEO Jeremy Helsby commented: “We have followed the rapid advance of the online ‘hybrid’ estate agency model over the last year.

“This investment broadens the group’s access to the UK residential sector by enabling us to take an interest in the high volume segment of the market, comprising over 1m transactions annually, to which Savills has had little exposure to date.”

He continued: “We have been consistently impressed by YOPA, whose technological edge, dedication to service, clarity and focus on the client at the heart of the sales process all resonate strongly with our core values and the way we do business.”