Zoopla founder Alex Chesterman is backing a new business which aims to prevent property transaction frauds and money laundering.

Thirdfort, which has raised a seed round of £700,000, has an app which combines document scanning and facial recognition technology with open banking.

It streamlines identity and source of funds checks carried out by conveyancers – and claims to be able to do so in minutes.

The idea for the business came about when the founders’ friend was defrauded out of £25,000 when purchasing a property, a type of fraud which according to the Land Registry has increased 20-fold since 2015.

Over the past year, FCA regulated Thirdfort has launched its product to the conveyancing market, achieving well over 1,000 app downloads per month, and having grown its team to 11 permanent employees.

As well as Chesterman, backers include legal firm Mishcon de Reya, which led the funding round, and Chris Marks, CEO of NatWest Markets, who invested in a personal capacity.