London office management provider raises £2m seed funding

Managed office platform Kitt has raised £2m in seed funding and has appointed former Fitness First CEO Oren Peleg as chairman.

The funding round was led by Proptech investor and YOPA’s co-founder Andrew Barclay - who will also join the company’s board.

Founded in August 2018 by entrepreneurs Steve Coulson and Lucy Minton, the company is building a platform that is aiming to change the office leasing experience for both tenants and landlords.

On the platform, tenants can design their space using VR. By partnering with landlords, Kitt then delivers a fit-out with ongoing office management.

The commercial office market in the UK is worth £19bn a year, with managed offices representing five per cent of the market currently. This figure is predicted to grow by 30 per cent per year over the next five years.

Steve Coulson, Kitt’s CEO and co-founder said: “In just a few months, we’ve taken on 20 spaces in office buildings in London, and have partnered with dozens of different companies to give them their own unique and fully managed office, designed just for them.

“Increasing numbers of growing businesses feel that shared-working isn’t for them - either because of the high costs or because they want their own brand on their office, not someone else’s.

“They also want to design their own fit-out and only pay for the office services they actually need but without the pain-points of traditional leasing. Kitt is able to join up these two different parts of the market very successfully.”

Changes in the leasing market have pushed rent levels down by 23 per cent on sub-5,000 sq ft units in the last nine years, with many companies switching to co-working models, leaving landlords needing to adapt to this evolving demand.

By challenging the traditional leasing model and managing the office throughout the tenancy, Kitt is trying to reduce void-periods, eliminating rent-free incentives and driving increased returns, with all tenants contracting directly with the landlord.

Oren Peleg, Kitt’s new chairman, added: “Having been a mentor for Steve and Lucy since they first had the idea for Kitt, I’m delighted they have asked me to formalise my role and chair this company. They’ve identified a real sweet spot in the market.”