Viewber raises cash in ‘over-subscribed’ funding round

| Rosalind Renshaw

Viewber, the outsourced viewing service for the property industry, has successfully raised new money in a funding round.

It has not named the figure raised, but described the sum as “well over-subscribed”.

Launched last September, the company now says it has national coverage via its network of Viewbers.

It services every type of real estate firm from small local agents to some of the best-known UK property companies.

The funding will enable the company to accelerate its rapid growth, giving residential sales and letting agents, and commercial agents as well as property managers, a viable and modern national 24/7 solution for conducting viewings when they can’t.

Co-founder Ed Mead, former executive director of London agent Douglas & Gordon and EYE columnist, said: “Buyers and tenants expect to be able to see a property when they want, and Viewber enables agents to give their sellers or landlords that guaranteed service commitment.

“The service also provides agents with greater geographical reach for their teams and means they can get on with negotiating deals rather than spending time travelling to viewings.

“There are thousands of trustworthy local people who are happy and more than capable, once vetted, of facilitating viewings. They get to know the properties they are showing well.”

The IT side of the business is handled by co-founder Marcus de Ferranti, an ex-fighter pilot and experienced technology entrepreneur.

The company will have completed 3,000 viewings in May and says it has over 1,200 Viewbers nationwide, growing at the rate of 30-plus a week.

Viewbers are all vetted and come from a variety of backgrounds, including ex-forces, ex-estate agents, teachers and full-time parents. They can register via the website and get paid £10-£20 per viewing.

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14 Comments

  1. Chris Wood
    May 16, 2017 at 06:47

    Congratulations to Ed Mead and his colleagues for an incredible startup. Viewer won’t be right for every agent but for many, it is likely to prove a highly useful tool.

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    1. PeeBee
      May 16, 2017 at 09:06

      Not sure which part of your post picked up the ‘Dislikes’,Chris! 

      Either some don’t like people trying something; don’t like what they’ve tried; or think it’s the mutt’s nuts and everyone should want it!

      Or a combination of the three, maybe?

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      1. Bless You
        May 16, 2017 at 12:29

        Good luck with this… 

        Report
  2. PeeBee
    May 16, 2017 at 07:49

    “The company will have completed 3,000 viewings in May and says it has over 1,200 Viewbers nationwide, growing at the rate of 30-plus a week.”

    Interesting – site says ‘no vacancies’.  I guess the growth has stopped, then – at least for this week.

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    1. P-Daddy
      May 16, 2017 at 10:05

      Clearly they are all out frantically doing their 2.5 viewings each!

      Report
  3. Woodentop
    May 16, 2017 at 08:50

    Who has total legal liability for viewings by Viewbers at the property? We don’t want anyone falling down a well!

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    1. Woodentop
      May 16, 2017 at 14:42

      My question relates to who is liable, not if you have insurance. Does it not belong to the agent and not a sub agent? Senario leading to litigation, the claimant be vendor or viewer sues the selling agent who is responsible and in turn then has to claim againgst Viewber who in turn then put an insurance claim in? Insurer declines cover due to for example due care and diligence not followed by Viewber or an exclusion clause. I ask becasue my PI will not cover a Viewber and I am at risk from a part-timer earning pocket money? Good idea of help but they are not my employee and seems to me to be a latch-key kids or who could say or do the wrong thing or are they just passive, which is not the way to conduct a viewing.

      I note Eds video he says they are not estate agents but a viewing service, however the viewer is asked to rate the ability of the Viewber and the higher the ratings the more work they are offered, which begs the question they are not passive and undertaking estate agency work and all that comes with it?

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      1. Woodentop
        May 16, 2017 at 16:01

        Does Viewber need to be licenced? I quote Wales where agents and staff are requireds to jump through hoops:
        You will (in the company name if the business is a body corporate) need to apply for an agent licence to license your company to let and manage properties in Wales.
        If an individual or company applying for an agent licence has employees (defined as ‘connected persons’ in the legislation) whose job involves letting and management tasks at rental properties in Wales, then they must be declared on the licence application by the applicant and they must ALL complete agent training in order for the applicant to obtain a licence. They do not however each need to be licensed individually. If your employees do any of the following as part of their job, so you (as the applicant) can apply for an agent licence: • publishing advertisements or disseminating information; • arranging and conducting viewings with prospective tenants;

        The RentSmartWales has no results found in register of Viewber as an agent. This has been law since 2016 and that nice colourful map of the UK of Viewbers has more than one or two in Wales. Agents may need to review their contracts with vendors and landlords by allowing Viewber in. Have a look at the TPO Code of Practice about viewings and not only does it apply for the Scots they also have the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 which I seem to recall starts in 2018?

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        1. Woodentop
          May 16, 2017 at 17:35

          I see my trusty “dislike fan” is happy for agents to fall foul of potential liability and unlicenced activity!

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  4. Ed Mead
    May 16, 2017 at 10:16

    Thanks for the comments guys. FYI PeeBee, the recruitment page is for anyone wanting to work for the company (not Viewbers, who register via the homepage) and we are full right now – but always interested to hear from anyone who thinks they might be able to contribute or has a good idea. As for the insurance question we are fully insured, having come from an agency background I’m well aware of the vagaries of showing a property. Loving the 2.5 comment, wish we were able to offer all our Viewbers work all the time, some are getting a lot (one in Southampton got 29 last month) and those that are busy know the properties they are showing well. Many are ready and waiting for expansion and bear in mind this is not their main job, they do it because they enjoy it, just extra money for them. It’s what the funding is for, we are ready to scale up – try us.

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    1. PeeBee
      May 16, 2017 at 10:36

      Thanks for the explanation, Mr M!

      Report
  5. samzawadzki48
    May 16, 2017 at 14:43

    As a Viewber customer I can attest to it’s excellence. I’m London based but let a property in Edinburgh. Having someone professional on the ground to the viewings was the missing puzzle piece for me!

     

    Anyone wanting to learn a little more I interviewed Ed and there is a video here – http://propertytechnology.co.uk/2017/05/viewber-interview-ed-mead/

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  6. Woodentop
    May 16, 2017 at 17:40

    It’s what the funding is for, we are ready to scale up – try us.

     

    How about answering my questions first? I think it would apply to all agents.

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  7. Ed Mead
    May 17, 2017 at 17:33

    We are fully insured and if you’d like to discuss your further points give me a call.

    Report
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