Adam Kamani, founder of fast fashion brand PrettyLittleThing, has pledged £5 million backing for his PropTech MoveStreets.
The property app brings the ‘swipe right to like’ concept popularised by dating platforms such as Tinder to finding the perfect house.
MoveStreets has already matched more than 70,000 people with a home to buy or let.
Fellow Manchester-based app developer Apadmi has been selected as MoveStreets’s technology development partner.
The team at Apadmi, headed by CEO Garry Partington, will focus on iOS and Android app development, with a brief to scale the app at pace and to architect, refresh and innovate via a 12-month roadmap.
The MoveStreets management team has also been bolstered in order to lead the planned scaling of the business. Joining CEO Kamani is Craig Burton as chief operating officer and Mahesh Patel as chief financial officer.
Burton has led operations and technology divisions from startups to global organisations for more than 25 years, including a team of 300 people at SG Digital, a division of Scientific Games Corp; plus the Football Pools and BetFred, where he was group IT director.
Patel is a chartered accountant and also CFO at the Kamani Family Office, the private fund that takes equity stakes in startups to support and nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs.
“The MoveStreets app is improving the way that homebuyers and renters search for property – it’s simple, it’s easy and it’s fun,” said Burton.
“We came to market with the first ‘swipe right’ property app, but the potential to grow, disrupt and add more and more new features provides even greater opportunity to be truly innovative.
“Of course, this is not something that traditional property portals are exactly renowned for.
“We are impressed with Apadmi’s digital product credentials, their impressive client portfolio and clear passion for mobile technology. And it was a bonus to find a Manchester-based partner that aligns with our own values of quality and speed”.
Partington added: “Apadmi is delighted to be partnering with MoveStreets to create digital products that truly innovate.
“MoveStreets is the perfect example of a company that is empowering users and appealing to a new generation of house hunters to make searching for property fun and fast, and we are truly excited to be partnering with them.”