Member Article

London PropTech is popping after OpenRent secures seven-figure investment

With its entrenched interests, legions of middle men and countless onerous fees and charges, the property sector has long been ripe for innovative reform and in the last few years a legion of disruptive PropTech startups have happily obliged.

London in particular has become a hotbed for businesses unleashing technological reform in the sector, and this year alone has seen big funding announcements for the likes of Trussle, Habito and others all closing big, multi-million pound funding rounds in.

Meanwhile, initiatives such as Pi Lab’s PropTech accelerator and continued investment and backing from property giant Zoopla, have continued to cement London’s position as one of the world’s foremost ecosystems for PropTech innovation.

Adding to the 2017’s big property technology funding rounds is OpenRent, an online rental platform that has closed a £4.4m investment round led by Global Founders Capital.

The firm, which claims to drastically lower costs by handling all aspects of the tenancy process through its platform, has grown to become the UK’s largest letting agent since it was founded in 2012, despite only previously having raised £1m back three years ago.

Accounting for the London-based company’s early success, Co-Founder, Adam Hyslop, said that its twofold approach had been focused on driving down costs for landlords while saving tenants thousands through its technology-enabled service.

According to Hyslop, this latest funding will be channeled towards growing the OpenRent’s team in London and provide a platform for future growth.

He commented: “This funding will allow us to grow our team in London - we want to expand our team of top developers to build our big ideas, and this gives us the extra resources and confidence to do so.”

Meanwhile, Daniel Jones, who is Managing Partner at Global Founders Capital, said the investment round would help build on OpenRent’s success and predicted that the company would continue to extend its lead over its rivals.

He said: “This deal represents the next phase of growth for OpenRent, allowing them to build out their team, launch new features and extend their lead as the leading letting agent in the UK.”