UK’s biggest high street chain invests in Faisal Butt’s proptech venture

| Rosalind Renshaw

Countrywide has announced ‘significant’ financial backing of Property Innovation Labs (Pi Labs).

It looks to have ploughed in nearly a quarter of a million pounds, apparently via crowdfunding.

Pi Labs was launched last year as a partnership between Faisal Butt’s venture capitalist firm Spire Ventures and commercial agents Cushman & Wakefield.

Pi Labs’ aim is to find the next big thing in property by backing ‘proptech’ start-ups with potential to disrupt the property sector.

Countrywide’s support of Pi Labs raises the intriguing prospect that the UK’s largest chain of high street agents could well find that its money has been used to back an online agency.

Spire Ventures already backs eMoov and hybrid model Ivy Gate.

We asked Countrywide about its stance on online agents. A spokesperson told Eye: “With regards to online agents, we embrace digital progress in both the residential and commercial market but there is a danger that digital and no frills become interchanged.

“Our view is that digital can and should continue to be developed to meet customers’ changing needs and expectations whilst not compromising on service and only focusing on price.”

Countrywide’s  backing looks to have brought the total investment in the Pi Labs fund to over £329,400 as of yesterday, contributed by 97 investors.

Pi Labs is currently raising £500,000 via crowdfunding platform Seedrs. It has 26 days in which to raise the remaining money.

Countrywide would not disclose the scale of its investment to Eye.

Nor – if it did use the crowdfunding route – does it reveal its identity among Pi Labs’ backers on Seedrs, with a number choosing to remain anonymous.

However, the largest investment is of £240,000 from an anonymous backer in Chelmsford, where Countrywide’s registered office is located.

A more modest backer who is named is Russell Quirk, of eMoov, who has contributed £100.

Pi Labs has so far chosen five start-ups for its first accelerator programme – one of which seems to be a changing room service with nothing whatever to do with property. Each will receive funding, mentoring and office space for three months.

A second accelerator programme will launch later this year.

The first five are:

Officernd: Cloud-based software that allows users to create office space plans without being a designer or architect.

AirSorted: An Airbnb management company that makes using Airbnb hassle-free for property owners.

Rialto: An online platform that connects professional brokers and landlords in commercial real estate.

Wilde Rooms: Offers a service between online fashion retailers and consumers. Members are able to browse online retail stores, add items to baskets and get them delivered to one fitting room to try before they buy.

Land Technologies: Technology to spot off-market development opportunities, assess risks, visualise planning and connect to landowners.

 

 

 

x

Email the story to a friend!

More top news stories



17 Comments

  1. Robert May
    March 10, 2015 at 06:55

    This is a little bit  perplexing,  so far I can’t see the point in spending money  on something that  I analyse as nothing more than a pricing strategy. something easily replicated by anyone in any agency. I need the re read this  and see if there is hidden genius in here I simply can’t fathom just yet.

    Report
    1. RealAgent
      March 10, 2015 at 07:46

      There is an answer to that Robert- recruit a chief executive that has had no estate agency background as countrywide have done.

      Report
      1. Robert May
        March 10, 2015 at 13:59

        Buying into the supply chain is sensible whether the CEO has agency background or not.  When Ian Wilson at Martin and Co does it, he is effective. In this case I can’t see the benefit! and what benefits could be  got out of  this are hardly worth £250,000. £125  per office isn’t a lot but I can’t see what they have seen in the opportunity. It isn’t my money so I am not concerned as I said mystified.

        Report
  2. Trevor Mealham
    March 10, 2015 at 07:30

    There was a prop tech event a couple of weeks back. Faisal of PiLabds was a guest speaker. There were very few traditional agent types there.

    The feel in the room was that the new emerging (and getting backed) new prop techs have daggers for the traditionalist agency types.

    There is £m’s being poured monthly now into new prop tech and many feel that with their funds they want to change the estate agency landscape.

    Some ideas were good. Some I fear flank statute that proper agencies abide too. My guess is that not all vcs in prop tech are doing due dilligence as to the backed techs being fully lawful.

    Report
    1. Colby GetAgent
      March 10, 2015 at 10:46

      Trevor, I’m one of the founders of GetAgent. I was at the event with you and actually called the Online Agents out about their focus on one side of the value proposition. I definitely don’t think that all PropTech founders have daggers and I hope you remember me espousing the values of a good estate agent. The key to all this is for these good estate agents to be able to demonstrate their importance to the other side of the value proposition, the sale price of a vendor’s home. Then it becomes a no-brained for vendors to pay the estate agency fees..

      Report
      1. smile please
        March 10, 2015 at 10:58

        GetAgent,

        Can i ask you a couple of questions,

        1. How do you make money other than crowdfunding / Angels? – Seems very little chance of the business model being sustainable on its own merits. Seems a lot of the the “Prop tech” business models are hit and hope. Taking large investment and hoping to find a niche in the market.

        2. Do you have permission to use agents data? – Why would i want to make your venture succeed? – Basically what you are trying to do is push down my commissions.

        You offer very little to the market place you are leaching of my and other companies data then trying to sell me a lead and make me as cheap as possible to the seller.

        Report
  3. Trevor Mealham
    March 10, 2015 at 07:37

    New ‘Budget’ models with bigger extra funds are likely to up spending in high presence portals such as the duoploy and take advantage that many traditional agents will only be in RM or Z.

    I predict with now extra funding in the pot many budgets take out the poorer budgets. But also rise from a 5% to a 6% to a 8% seller share in the coming 2 years.

    You’d have to be blind to not have noticed more budgets gaining greater popup ads and even more boards up.

     

    All said they could be stunted – but portals alone is not the answer.

    Report
  4. RealAgent
    March 10, 2015 at 07:48

    Russell Quirk put in £100!?!  What is Faisal growing a moustache for Movember or something?!

    Report
    1. smile please
      March 10, 2015 at 11:00

      Be fair RealAgent that is his profit related bonus for the year!

      Report
  5. GPL
    March 10, 2015 at 09:21

    I have an idea Ebox!… I will provide empty cardboard boxes that we sit in chairs in our estate agency offices… they will replace estate agents! Customer comes in and looks at Ebox… nothing happens… Customer phones or emails… obviously nothing happens… because it’s an empty Cardboard Box… but hey!… it’s Ebox!!… invest now… then we can all sell out and take the profit!…. You heard it here first Ebox!… now where is Countrywide’s Telephone Number?

    Or another idea I have EHumanBeing… the idea is that we create Human Beings and train them as Estate Agents… they can do amazing things that Ebox can’t!

    Technology?…fine… however let’s not forget that people talk to people… it’s what Human Beings thrive on… actual interaction with other Human Beings! Queue the witty interaction comments!

    Report
    1. wilko
      March 10, 2015 at 09:36

      I like the e box idea. You could have one variety of e box installed by your front door so that the postman or courier could leave our parcels in when we are at work. Only the postman would have the code to open the box. When the box opens it could trigger a button that sends an alert to your mobile devices saying “you have parcels”……..There must be many other potential applications for the e-box?

      Report
      1. smile please
        March 10, 2015 at 10:00

        This is massive in the States, pretty much every listing has one and all the agents do is get a text that gives them a one time code to open the box to release the key and then they put back after.

        Obviously in the states its not so much companies you employ but individuals and multi listing is much more commen with sub agencies.

        Report
  6. P-Daddy
    March 10, 2015 at 09:47

    But hang on…estate agents aren’t human they are just cold money grabbing entities lol!

    I think the subtlety of Pi labs and why Countrywide are invested is missed here. It is nothing to do with emoov or on line agents, they are funded by Spire etc, this new fund is starting from now with a rag bag of new businesses to be nurtured at silicon roundabout in Spitalfields. One is an online concierge service for people renting out rooms in houses servicing Airbnb (ridiculous idea but some tech junky has bought into it) one helps developers find land suitable for building (bet CWD love that for their land and new homes) and there is a portal to link commercial landlords and brokers. Don’t worry everyone, I would just question why Countrywide are acting as angel investors in start ups when they have a responsibility to create value for their shareholders, not as a venture fund. Countrywide, please justify this type of investment for your investors, bearing in mind you are listed on the stock exchange?

    Report
  7. Mark Scobey
    March 10, 2015 at 11:13

    Brilliant move by Countrywide – the poacher turns gamekeeper.
    PI Labs et al are only going to increase in popularity, going in search of the “next great thing” involving property and technology.  The assumption is that because it’s technology based it will impact the traditional estate agent.  However, what if it was to their advantage?  What if it was a viable income stream for the high-street agents?
     
    Given the choice, dropping £5,000 into PI Labs is a far better investment than OTM.  It has to be.  OTM has only replicated, not innovated and this is why it’s a clever move by Countrywide.  If they discover something that benefits the high-street they win and if the stumble across a genuine prop tech innovation, they win.

    Report
  8. Harree
    March 10, 2015 at 16:07

    Mark Scobey, excellent post. £240,000 is a cheap cover bet if PI Labs strikes gold.

    Report
    1. Robert May
      March 10, 2015 at 18:21

      It is also fairly embarassing if the Gold they think they have spotted  turns out to be Pyrite.

      Are you able to name any tech that has turned out to be a real missed investment opportunity in the past 6 years that has  succeded because of it’s tech! I can think of two!  one which genuinely did do well and the other  which has a flip story which tells a slightly different tale to the one that is told.

       

      Report
      1. Robert May
        March 10, 2015 at 18:27

        Sorry for that post , brain fade! I posted the pre-edited text instead of the  one I corrected.

        Report
X

You must be logged in to report this comment!

Log In Register

Back to Homepage

Comments are closed.

Thank you for signing up to our newsletter, we have sent you an email asking you to confirm your subscription. Additionally if you would like to create a free EYE account which allows you to comment on news stories and manage your email subscriptions please enter a password below.