Property technology company Goodlord, which provides software and services to transform how people rent, has been backed by some of the UK’s most respected investors in a £10m Series B round.
Goodlord has raised £10m from investors including Latitude Ventures, the Series B+ sister fund to LocalGlobe known for backing scaling European success stories such as Transferwise, Zoopla, Monzo, TravelPerk, and SecretEscapes. This round was also backed by Finch Capital, leaders in the European fintech space, and welcomed Oxx as a new investor. Oxx recently raised $133 million to back “Europe’s most promising SaaS companies” at Series A and beyond.
Goodlord’s core platform means the rental process – from contracts and referencing to payments – can be handled through one simple interface, with no need for paper or multiple stakeholders. This creates a seamless process for what can otherwise be a stressful and bureaucratic experience for tenants. For landlords and letting agents, the technology saves crucial amounts of time, unlocks new revenue streams, ensures compliance with the evolving legislative landscape, and creates opportunities to offer tenants value-add services, such as insurance.
Following this investment, the team has ambitious plans to double their client base and expand their suite of products, delivering on their goal to create the world’s best renting experience for the 10+ million UK households living in the private and social rental sector.
Goodlord will use the funding to invest in its engineering, product, and customer-facing teams.
Julian Rowe from Latitude Ventures, who is joining the Goodlord board, comments:
“For many people under the age of 40 the rental market is the housing market and Goodlord is passionate about modernising it for millions of people. By creating software that increases the professionalism of letting agents and reduces the stress of finding and securing a home to rent, Goodlord is supplying an essential service to meet a key need. With more people predicted to be renting than owning by 2039, we’re delighted to back Goodlord on its mission to create the best rental experience in the world.”
“I’m joining a board that has the sector knowledge, experience and energy to build one of the UK’s most successful property technology companies. The rental market is complex and tenants and agents have multiple needs, which Goodlord’s highly skilled team are addressing while creating a strong, impactful business that improves the everyday lives of many people.”
Bob Thomas, Investment Manager at Oxx, adds:
“Goodlord is a great example of the power of software: to replace complexity with clarity and transparency. By connecting counterparties across the property rental transaction, Goodlord solves a significant problem for agents, landlords and tenants. With UK agents reporting that the greatest pain they face is the back office administration and increasing compliance associated with managing tenancies, Goodlord automates away this administrative burden and, in doing so, makes the rental process simple and transparent for all involved.
“As rentals become an increasing share of the UK housing mix, the importance of improving the rental transaction for agents, tenants and landlords is enormous. Goodlord is leading this market forward, and we are delighted to back their world-class team as they develop one of the UK’s most significant technology businesses.”
Goodlord’s co-founder Tom Mundy started the company in 2014 in order to transform the rental process. Serial entrepreneur William Reeve (co-founder of LOVEFiLM, Founding Director of Zoopla) took the helm as CEO in early 2018. In 2019, the company doubled both its headcount (from 47 to 97) and customer numbers.
Goodlord CEO, William Reeve, comments:
“Last year saw hundreds of businesses join Goodlord and we’re delighted to be starting 2020 by welcoming the investors Latitude Ventures and Oxx Capital.
“Despite the UK rental sector having grown to over 10m households, a deeply flawed process remains the status quo, which is stressful for tenants and time-consuming for agents. Our mission to provide the best rental experience in the world remains as relevant as ever and, with this new investment, we have the tools we need to achieve it.”
Over the past 12 months, Goodlord has introduced new products and platform updates to help agents and landlords stay compliant following the implementation of Tenant Fee Bans in England and Wales. The company also expanded their service to cover corporate lets, brought in extended insurance provisions, and introduced virtual banking technology for customers.
