The Welsh start-up whose tech can seal a house deal in two days
Astart-up firm pioneering technology that aims to complete house transactions in just two days has raised nearly £1m to support its take-up with thousands of estate agent branches across the UK.
The £850,000 funding round, which was led by Finance Wales, will allow Cardiff firm Properr to launch Track My Move, a platform which it hopes will turn the UK home purchasing process on its head.
The product brings together customers, estate agents and solicitors on one platform, providing a tool that makes buying and selling a home more transparent.
And Properr believes it could cut the standard home purchase transaction time from an average of 10 weeks to just two days.
A one-stop-dashboard, Track My Move aims to reduce the stress of buying or selling a house, as all the relevant information is held in one place online and can be accessed by everyone involved at any time from any device.
Consumers have all the information at their fingertips so they know how their house purchase or sale is progressing.
Estate agents can continue giving a face-to-face service to their customers, but reduce their administration and cashflow issues because of the reduction in time it will take for the sale to go through.
And solicitors can manage all their information and communication in one place, which will save time going back and forth with paperwork.
The company will generate revenues from annual subscriptions with estate agents for use of its technology.
It is forecasting to have at least 1,000 estate agent branches signed up over the next 12 months and 6,000 in three years’ time.
It is also planning to bolt on a platform for the selling of house-related moving products and services, including removal services and house insurance.
Founded by entrepreneur Owen Derbyshire, who is chief executive, and chief technology officer Steve Talbot, Properr has already signed up independent estate agents across Wales ahead of its UK roll-out.
As well as Finance Wales, the funding round also secured private investment from some of the UK’s most successful investors, including Ashley Cooper, co-founder and director of Catalyst Growth Partners.
Mr Derbyshire said: “The current process of buying or selling a house is archaic, inefficient and stressful, with the average transaction taking between 10-12 weeks.
“Despite it being the biggest transaction most people will ever make in their lifetime, buyers and sellers often experience frustration over the lack of transparency in the process.
“Meanwhile, estate agents’ cashflow is affected as they don’t get paid until the transaction is complete.
“Track My Move is a big leap forward in transparency and accountability for all concerned.
“This round of funding allows us to continue our exponential growth to meet the needs of our rapidly growing client base.
“We’re working with partners and regulatory bodies to ensure the platform works for all parties and meets everyone’s needs from offer through to completion and post-completion.
“That means our customers are in total control of every element of the transaction and can effectively track their move from day one.”
Sarah Smith, portfolio investment executive for Finance Wales’ Technology Venture Investments team, said: “Properr has an enthusiastic, ambitious and proactive management team who are revolutionising the residential property market.
“They’re supported by a team of savvy property technologists and business development experts. Properr’s strong potential for significant growth and profitability made it a perfect fit for our technology-rich portfolio.”