London, UK – 8th September 2014: Property Partner, a financial technology startup targeting residential property investment, today announces completion of a £1.25m seed funding round led by Octopus Investments and invites prospective users to register for early access via its website ahead of its upcoming launch.
Property Partner, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, is bringing accessibility, simplicity and flexibility to residential property investment. The online platform uniquely combines property crowdfunding with the opportunity for investors to subsequently trade their holdings. Daniel Gandesha, Chartered Accountant and former Head of Commercial Development and Startup Investments at BSkyB, founded the business following frustration with property investing being an all or nothing endeavour.
“Residential property investment has many hurdles which put people off, including the significant up front cash requirement, exposure to unexpected costs, administrative burden and legal obligations. Property funds don’t solve the problem either, as you lose control and visibility over which properties you’re actually investing in,” comments Daniel Gandesha, CEO at Property Partner. “We’re passionate about addressing these issues, which I’ve experienced first hand, so anyone can easily, affordably and enjoyably participate. We’re delighted that we have the backing and support of such an experienced group of investors”.
Led by Octopus Ventures, the investment round also includes participation from Europe’s top acceleration fund Seedcamp; Betfair co-founder and Funding Circle Board member Ed Wray; Better Capital founder and venture capitalist, Jon Moulton; Daniel Quai, Crescendo Real Estate co-founder; and BSkyB CFO and Just Eat Board member Andrew Griffith. The financing follows a previously unannounced £0.15m raise in February 2014, in which Ed Wray, Daniel Quai and Andrew Griffith also took part, taking total funds raised to £1.40m.
Jo Oliver, a member of the Ventures team at Octopus, whose previous successes include Zoopla Property Group, will join Property Partner’s board as part of the transaction. Jo commented, “Octopus looks to invest in people with the potential to build big businesses that can transform an industry. We’ve been extremely impressed by Daniel as well as the progress that he and his team have made in a relatively short period of time. We’re also very excited by his unique take on property crowdfunding and long-term vision for the business.”
CTO Thomas Remmert has led the development of Property Partner’s technology platform, having previously served as Principal Architect at Vodafone, Technical Due Diligence Advisor to Octopus Ventures, and Lead Architect in charge of building the online financial trading portal for Comdirect bank.
Daniel Quai, who has overseen the acquisition and management of more than 1,700 properties valued at more than €8.0 billion across the United Kingdom and Europe, was one of Property Partner’s earliest investors and remains a close advisor to the company. Daniel commented “Property Partner allows you to buy property at the click of a button. Combined with the expertise of deeply experienced property professionals and city heavyweights, that’s hugely exciting”.
Residential property is the UK’s largest asset class – worth in excess of £5 trillion – with transactions exceeding £20bn each year. Crowdfunding for real estate has attracted major players in the USA, although mainly with a focus on commercial property and never before with a platform that allows investors to subsequently trade their interests.
About Property Partner:
Property Partner (www.propertypartner.co) is a technology-led business that uniquely combines residential property crowdfunding with a secondary exchange upon which investors can trade their holdings. It will bring accessibility, simplicity and flexibility to a market that has traditionally had high barriers to entry.
The company will allow anyone to invest in an individual property of their choice, with as little or as much cash as they wish, so they can own a share, receive rental income and access capital growth. The letting and management of the properties is carried out on behalf of investors. There are no hidden fees or unexpected costs.
Property Partner is the trading name of London House Exchange Limited, a company which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
About Octopus Investments:
Octopus is a venture capital investor who backs talented people with the potential to build big businesses. Their focus is on identifying entrepreneurs and fast growth companies that can scale explosively to create, transform or dominate an industry. The Ventures team has a proven track record of helping build exceptional global businesses, including Zoopla Property Group, Secret Escapes, SwiftKey, graze.com and YPlan.
The Ventures team is part of Octopus Investments, one of the UK’s fastest growing investment management companies specialising in smaller company investing, with more than £3.5 billion of assets under management.
http://www.octopusinvestments.com/
Important Note
This press release is issued jointly by Property Partner (the trading name of London House Exchange Limited) and Octopus Investments Limited, which are both authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, for use by journalists in their professional capacity and should not be relied upon by retail clients. The value of investments, and the income from them, may fall or rise. The information in this document should not be construed as offering investment or tax advice.