Proptech features prominently in a ranking of the UK’s most promising companies.
A list of the 100 ‘most innovative and disruptive start-up businesses in the UK’ has been released by Startups.co.uk
LendInvest is placed at the top of the list for being the “first and largest online lender”.
The business is now the de-facto source of bridging finance for short-term auction and development loans. Typically, loans are for 12 months or less.
LendInvest purports to use technology enabling make faster lending decisions for property.
It’s the second year in a row that a property start-up has ranked first on the list with Purplebricks heading the 2015 edition.
Joining LendInvest in the top 10 is Appear Here, a website for finding short-term retail space commonly known as Pop-up Shops.
Property Partner (16), a regular in the pages of Property Industry Eye, beats the myriad of Property Crowdfunding sites to be the only one on the list.
Airbnb lettings management companies have been cropping up a lot this year, with Hostmaker (20) and Airsorted (58) beating the likes of PassTheKeys to feature this year.
In my opinion, many of these short-term lettings agencies pose an increasing opportunity for traditional agents to offer an increased service to landlords. While marketing properties for long-let, landlords can increase their returns by taking Airbnb bookings during the void.
With the higher cost and involvement of operating such a service, like changing linen, these Airbnb management companies can take on the hassle of short-term lets.
Only one online estate agent made the list. Settled (93), which is the lowest ranked property start-up, aims to ‘put house selling back in the hands of consumers’.
Launched last year, Settled promotes a home on as many websites as possible and claims it usually takes an average of 20 days for home owners to get a confirmed sale. Whereas the likes of Purplebricks and even Emoov have gone ‘hybrid’ with a local agent on call, Settled aims to use nothing but technology to facilitate a ‘For Sale By Owner’ style transaction.
Plentific, which started life as a challenger portal using Zoopla listings, is 35 on the list. The current business model involves a guide for buyers and a Zoopla-sponsored Find-A-Pro tool to help find tradespeople.
Vrumi (78) and Hubble (91) are the only two commercial property start-ups featured.
Both offer office space to be booked online, with Vrumi ‘an Airbnb for meeting rooms’ in other people’s homes and Hubble targeting the letting of desks in other company’s offices.
The list can be viewed here: http://startups.co.uk/startups-100/
Comments (1)
Err local? please do not perpetuate the myth there is anything local about the passive intermediary internet listing firms.(they’re not hybrids either) It is now possible to quantify ‘local’ by plotting against every property sale the average distance to the likely selling agent.
Take a property in EX33 1P, the local agents with a >99% chance of finding a buyer are 5 & 10 miles away. The closest passive intermediary listers are 21 and 56 miles away. I chose EX33 1 P because it is an area well served by a proper hybrid agent who would take serious exception to being classified in with the likes of Purplebricks and Emoov who in their attempt shift from online to hybrid are seeking to gives themselves some credibility and skulk away from a business model that obviously isn’t profitable.
In support of the government’s promotion of passive intermediary listing firms the ASA claims that ‘local’ is a subjective thing, rejecting any complaint made on the grounds that ‘local’ can’t be quantified, it can now.
Sometimes the best innovation is the technology designed to protect rather than disrupt. It’s not very lucrative but honesty never is.