London-based proptech startup MoveGenius has secured £350,000 in pre-seed funding for its automated estate agent onboarding platform, giving it a valuation of £3.5m.
The round, shared exclusively with UKTN, was led by Octopus Ventures through its pre-seed First Cheque Fund, along with family offices. Each invested £100,000.
The remaining £150,000 came from funding raised through the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme.
The investment comes just four months after MoveGenius was founded by Hannah Nicholson, a former corporate lawyer.
The startup will use the cash to bolster its headcount by hiring a CTO, developers and a head of design. It currently has an all-female team of three.
Nicholson told UKTN that its fundraise will give it a two-year runway.
MoveGenius’ platform conducts digital ID and anti-money laundering checks, automates legal forms and provides a live dashboard for estate agents.
“We’re trying to reduce fall through rate and speed up the process by 40%,” Nicholson told UKTN.
It’s looking to take advantage of the growing adoption of digital solutions by the property industry, which was boosted by a record year of proptech funding in 2021.
MoveGenius’ investor deck, seen by UKTN, shows the company is aiming to capture a slice of the one million residential transactions that take place each year and a £500m addressable UK market.
The startup is targeting £7m revenue in year three of operations.
MoveGenius claims its platform can save estate agents up to £2,000 per transaction.
Its B2B offering is available through a subscription model and it is in discussions with estate agents and portals to secure commercial deals.
In July it completed Block Dojo’s accelerator programme and has secured a commercial contract with real estate giant Zoopla to plug into its estate agency CRM in January next year.
Its competitors include the likes of Hipla, LandmarkAgent and MoveButler.
“Hannah has all the qualities we look for in a founder, copious amounts of grit, hustle and ambition,” said Kirsten Connell, First Cheque Fund, Octopus Ventures. “We are delighted to join MoveGenius with our newly launched First Cheque Fund and look forward to supporting them on the exciting journey ahead.”