London-based AI property management platform secures £500k from investors

AskPorter, an AI-powered property management platform, has secured investment of over £500k from property, technology and business experts, led by former executive director of LSL Property Services, David Newnes.

The round also included personal investment from serial super-angels James Caan CBE and Faisal Butt as well as a follow-on commitment from Pi Labs, the PropTech VC firm.

The London-based startup, which was co-founded in 2016 by Tom Shrive and Sam Tassell, features a multi-channel communications platform with an AI digital assistant that serves as a personal assistant for property managers and a property concierge for customers and tenants.

The digital assistant ‘Porter’ carries out planned duties, guides customers through enquiries and reporting issues, and delivers concierge services, only reverting to a human manager or approved service provider when necessary.

AskPorter has also partnered with Adiuvo, a provider of out of hours services for 350,000 properties across the UK and others such as newly launched POD Management.

The new funding and partnerships will be used to continue developing and improving the platform and AI assistant as it rolls out to more properties across the UK. The platform is currently being introduced to enterprise clients who own or manage residential, PRS, block and commercial properties.

Tom Shrive, CEO of AskPorter, said: “Our mission is to leverage AI to help property owners and managers build better relationships with their customers by streamlining costly processes whilst delivering a really compelling tenant experience.

“This investment will enable us to roll-out our property management platform nationally, and begin to redefine service levels within the property management sector.”

AskPorter is a graduate of Cohort 4 of the Pi Labs pre-seed programme which finished last year and subsequently, the Land Registry backed Geovation programme.

James Caan, CBE, added: “New technology, like Artificial Intelligence, which sits at the heart of AskPorter, will undoubtedly play an increasing role in people’s lives, particularly estate agency and property management.

“AskPorter is set to significantly improve the service that managing agents are able to offer landlords and tenants; saving time, cost and hassle. I am extremely excited to be part of the team and see what the future for this innovative new company has in store.”

Faisal Butt, founder and chairman of PropTech VC Pi Labs, also commented: “AskPorter has cleverly recognised that the property management industry is better positioned than most to take advantage of the developments in communication and AI.

“What I find truly exciting about this startup is that weaving AI into property management is an opportunity to totally transform the customer experience in this industry.”