Property licensing is complex, inconsistent, and ever-changing in the private rented sector in the UK. To solve this, London-based RegTech platform Kamma offers proprietary technology that detects, cleanses, and aggregates huge volumes of divergent and ever-changing regulatory information.
Raised £1.6 million
The UK-based startup has recently secured an additional funding of £1.6 million. The investment was led by Triple Point, which also included investments from Europe’s most active proptech VC company Pi Labs, and M7 Structura. So far, the company has raised £2.2 million since its inception.
Global search engine for local legislation
Kamma will use the funding to build its global search engine for local legislation, whilst supporting their current mandate to tackle property law in the UK. According to the company, local regulation is a minefield of messy, disparate, and changing information. Doing business at scale, nationally or internationally, is seriously encumbered by the inaccessibility of local law.
The constantly shifting landscape in property licensing regulations has an impact on multiple stakeholders in the PRS, from landlords and agents through to insurance companies and mortgage lenders, that need visibility on the compliance status of a property before writing a tenancy agreement policy or mortgage.
Projects 39% increase in discretionary licensing schemes
Kamma projects a 39% increase in ‘discretionary’ licensing schemes in 2021, which, nationally, would qualify over a million rental properties for a licence.
With licensing enforcement known to generate additional tax revenue at a ratio of 1:5, this equates to a £2.3 billion opportunity; almost £400 million in licence fees converting to £1.9 billion for the tax collector.
Serves around 4000 customers
The British startup is able to deploy its data engine to improve transparency wherever legislation becomes too complex to be effective, creating opportunities to support businesses beyond the real estate industry.
Right now, the company serves over 4,000 customers, protecting a portfolio value of over £33 billion in the real estate sector ranging from agents, landlords, mortgage, and lenders.
Orla Shields, CEO, and Co-Founder of Kamma said: “Our vision is for a world unencumbered by disparate information, and our property licensing product is a clear example of how we help businesses stay compliant, save time, save money while raising housing standards at the same time. Through our product we can assess all licensing needs, drawing information from multiple sources and presenting it as usable data on one platform. Our guiding principle is to make renting safer for everyone and with more people working from home, and a correlation between housing overcrowding and the faster spread of COVID-19, property compliance is of huge importance.
Esha Vatsa, Principal at Pi Labs, commented: “Kamma is a clear example of how technology can provide real solutions for issues in the real estate industry. Through its innovative platform, Kamma has digitised a complex and time-consuming task for agents, lenders, investors, mortgage brokers, and local authorities. Our investment will help Kamma further strengthen their position in the market and shine a light on the importance of property compliance, as we look to a more agile work style in the future. We are proud to be supporting Kamma on their journey.”