ruhcuContinuing our Top 10 tech series of London’s most valuable startups, this week, we’re looking at the property world and seeing which London-born real estate startups are the highest valued.
Utilising Tech Nation’s Data Commons service, Prolific London has taken a look at the most valuable London-born startups in this sector that were founded in the last 10 years.
The list includes companies that have provided alternatives to hotels for travellers as well as online estate agents and mortgage brokers.
Let’s see who made it into the Top 10…
1. Onefinestay
Acquired by Accor hotel group in 2016, Onefinestay is a luxury Airbnb-style home-sharing company. It was reported that the company hasn’t been profitable since it was acquired but owners are in the process of consolidating the business.
Despite this, it’s still valued highly… probably because their city and villa collections leave anyone desperate for a holiday.
Founded: 2009
Value: £132 million
2. House Trip
Another company that encourages holiday-goers to choose rentals over hotel rooms, House Trip is a holiday booking site for villas, apartments and homes both abroad and in the UK.
It was acquired by TripAdvisor’s rental division in 2016 for an undisclosed amount. Founded in London in 2010, HouseTrip grew it’s portfolio so it could offer around 300,000 properties across Europe, with some others also available in North America.
Founded: 2010
Value: At least £130 million
3. easyProperty
Part of the Easy brand group, easyProperty is an online estate agent that advertises the propertis on Rightmove and Zoopla. They offer a 24/7 dashboard so that sellers can respond to buyers or tenants.
Users can choose how they pay to sell their house from Pay Now, Split Fee or No Sale, No Fee.
Founded: 2013
Value: At least £100 million
4. Mews
Mews is a cloud-based property management software that helps hotels and hostels automate their operations, leaving managers to put more time into looking after their guests.
The system promises the ability to generate more direct bookings, and the ability to provide a better guest experience.
Founded: 2012
Value: At least £108 million
5. Yopa
Yopa is an online full service estate agents. Users are provided with their own dedicated state agent with local knowledge and they don’t pay a penny until their home is sold.
Yopa says it does everything a traditional estate agent does, but it’s open in the evenings and at weekends. Users can use YopaHub to view requests, offers and feedback whenever they want.
Founded: 2015
Value: At least £80 million
6. Nested
After launching in late 2016, Nested competed with high-end estate agents by providing all of the assistance needed to sell your house. In addition to that, the company offered you a loan of between 90-95% of the market value of your house to help you buy a new home prior to selling your old one.
In March this year, Nested’s Co-founder Matt Robinson confirmed to TechCrunch that the company had laid off 20% of its workforce amid Brexit uncertainty.
Founded: 2016
Value: At least £80 million
7. Property Partner
Property Partner is a property crowdfunding platform with over 13,000 investors. It has £131m assets under management and was voted the Best Property Investment Service in 2018 and 2019.
Their unique resale market allows investors to sell their shares in properties to other investors at a price of their choosing.
Founded: 2014
Value: At least £60 million
8. Trussle
Trussle is an online mortgage broker that helps customers save time and money. After helping them secure a mortgage, it monitors it for free and helps them switch to better deals if possible. Users simply need to create a profile and Trussle will find a deal that suits them, providing them with straightforward, fee-free mortgage experience.
Founded: 2015
Value: At least £54 million
9. Node.
Node’s mission is to re-image community living through their portfolio of community-spaces and accommodation in creative areas around the world.
They have curated apartment spaces, many of which are fully booked, in Brooklyn, LA, Seattle, Kitchener, Dublin, London, Manchester.
Founded: 2016
Value: At least £45 million
10. Wayhome, formerly Unmortgage
Wayhome is a part-own, part-rental housing startup, where users can purchase as little as 5% of a property and rent the rest. It was founded in 2016 as an attempt to make it easier for first time buyers trying to get onto the housing ladder, by helping families that can afford to rent, gradually buy a home.
Founded: 2016
Value: At least £40 million
