Student accommodation website Uniplaces, whose angel investors include Zoopla founder Alex Chesterman, has raised $24m in new funding.

The business, which invites advertising from private landlords and agents, was started by three ex-university classmates in 2012.

The latest round of fund-raising includes existing investor Octopus Ventures, an early backer of Zoopla.

Rebecca Hunt, investment director at Octopus Ventures, said: “We have believed in the team at Uniplaces right from the start, and we are really proud to be able to continue to support the business for a third time in this latest round.”

Uniplaces said it will use the new funding to continue its development and to create a stronghold in new and existing international markets.

Uniplaces was founded in Lisbon in 2012 by three friends shortly after they had graduated.

Miguel Amaro, Ben Grech and Mariano Kostelec, who met while studying at Nottingham University and King’s College London, started Uniplaces with their own money.

The team now consists of over 120 people and has expanded into 38 cities in Europe from just six last year.

It has over 40,000 student rooms in its inventory, and says it has generated more than $25m in bookings for landlords since launch.

Students from over 140 different countries have used the site.