The ‘stock exchange for residential property’ Property Partner has raised £5.2m to enable the crowd to make investments in the housing market as they might put cash into the stock exchange.
Investors in property can now easily own a share of a new home, receive rental income and take advantage of increasing prices. Property Platform then carries out the property management on behalf of investors, charging 12.5% of rental income for the service. This is in addition to an upfront 2% fee on making the investment.
The platform launched in January, covering London and the South East, and has already seen around 1,000 people invest sums ranging from £50 to £50,000. A resale market is already taking shape too, where shares in fully-funded houses can continue to be traded with Property Partner.
The funding has come from Index Ventures, one of Europe’s largest tech investment funds, and early investors in Skype, JustEat and DropBox. Property Platform is now part of a portfolio of successful fintech investments made by Index, including TransferWise and Funding Circle.
Index joins Zoopla backers Octopus Ventures, Seedcamp and co-founder of Betfair Ed Wray in backing Property Platform.
Daniel Gandesha, Property Partner’s CEO, said:
“We are convinced that this model for property investing is a highly attractive alternative to buying properties directly. We also believe strongly in providing tenants with a more professional service, because tenants who are treated well and fairly are more likely to stay longer.”
Neil Rimer, co-founder at Index Ventures, added:
“A reinvention of residential property as an asset class is currently underway. It is being democratised and opened up to a far broader range of people, who can now invest without the hassle and liquidity problems that have traditionally plagued direct investment in property.”