Residently has secured £4.5 million of funding ‘to bring renting into the modern age’.
By digitising the end-to-end customer experience in a $2 trillion market, Residently is aiming to streamline operations for property owners and renters, reducing costs and delays.
There are currently over 5m rental homes in the UK, but as people seek greater flexibility, renters are forecast to outnumber owners by 2039. They already do so in London, where Residently is based.
Residently’s app allows renters to arrange viewings, take virtual tours, make offers, secure their home, pay deposits and extend or renew their lease. Broadband and other utilities can be set up in advance along with helpful services like moving, storage, furniture rental, cleaning and digital locks.
For agents and property managers, digitising their renter’s experience enables them to streamline operations saving them an estimated £400 per property per year while doubling their landlord’s Net Operating Income through void reduction.
Backers included Love Ventures, alongside existing investors Felix Capital, LocalGlobe and A/O PropTech as well as a Seedrs crowdfund. It previously raised £7m of seed funding in 2019.
Founder Tom Allason is a serial marketplace entrepreneur, known for having founded eCourier and more recently Shutl, which sold to Royal Mail and eBay respectively.
“In a world where we can secure a taxi, takeaway or trip away in seconds it is nuts that we tolerate friction and uncertainty where we spend most of our time and money,” he said.
“We’re here to transform the experience and economics of renting. We started by digitising the rental journey, next up is solving the greatest problem with renting. Letting renters secure their next home more than a month in advance will eliminate unnecessary stress and double rent for them and costly voids for landlords.
“We’re delighted to have Love Ventures join our existing investors for this next stage of the journey.”
Adrian Love, partner at Love Ventures, added: “There’s a gap in the market for a property platform that radically transforms renting, that’s also truly aligned with both renters and landlords.
“Tom and his team have the ambition and understanding to re-shape the customer experience for renters in ways that are long overdue. We’re excited to be working with Residently to help fund their global expansion and create a world leading home brand.”
Another platform which is revolutionising renting in the UK is Renthero.