Online letting agent bought for undisclosed sum by rentals platform Howsy

Rental platform Howsy has acquired online lettings business Urban.

Urban was part of the three-way merger with Emoov and Tepilo in May last year, but not part of the administration last December.

Emoov has since been acquired but Tepilo has vanished.

Urban, headed by Adam Male, swiftly bought the business he founded in 2008 back from the administrators.

Emoov boss Russell Quirk had previously said that £3m had been paid for Urban – a price he described as a steal – but Male said that he had not paid the administrators anything like that.

The price Howsy has now paid has also not been revealed.

The staff of Urban have gone with the business.

Howsy said: “The acquisition of Urban will allow Howsy to grow substantially and offer broader services whilst maintaining a focus on customer service and delivering great value for landlords.”

The acquisition is the first since Howsy, formerly called No Agent, announced a recent £5m fund-raise.

Howsy offers a cut-price property management service to landlords, which it says is up to 70% cheaper than high street agents.

Howsy said that Urban’s main focus is on offering a quick self-service tenant-find solution.

Yesterday on Rightmove, Urban had 228 properties, while Howsy had 127.

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3 Comments

  1. ArthurHouse02

    This Adam Male is a blooming clever chap. First flogging the business to Emoov, then buying it back on the cheap, now he has done it again and when Howsy goes pop he will buy it back again. Congrats Adam,you’ve found a gap in the market and a good way to take advantage of the mugs.

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  2. s71

    you should see the reviews on Howsy’s

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  3. propertyguru11

    Look at their Trust Pilot – even with all the fake reviews they have been posting

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