Krispyhouse.com, the new residential rentals app and online platform with ambitious growth plans, has secured its latest equity funding from a London family office, which will help the company in its mission to digitise the UK's rental market for the benefit of estate agents, tenants and landlords.
The £1.3 million early stage investment will be used to boost product development and marketing so that more renters, estate agents and landlords can benefit from krispyhouse.com's innovative service, which has taken hold in London and is now increasingly being used across the UK.
In a sector where speed is of the essence, krispyhouse.com's next-generation property-listing platform provides instant connectivity between estate agents and tenants - streamlining the chaotic rental process with its WhatsApp-style functionality.
Unlike competitor platforms such as Rightmove and Zoopla, krispyhouse.com's innovative technology enables users to communicate through instant direct messaging, and voice and video calls. Renters can also stay up to date with activity as they receive notifications of newly available properties based on their specific requirements via app and email.
The platform's ability to streamline communications helps all parties to reduce transaction bottlenecks and provides a service that suits the WhatsApp generation of renters, who make up the vast majority of renters and are used to organising their lives through well-designed, user-friendly apps. The platform also delivers further efficiencies by providing letting agents with an integrated CRM system, a market leading prospecting tool and unlimited advertising.
More than 500 estate agents currently advertise their properties with krispyhouse.com whose website receives over 50,000 visits a month. The platform's popularity with agents, landlords and tenants is driven by its sleek user experience, messaging functionality and added value services, such as CRM integration and sophisticated prospecting tool for agents.
Anthony Kyriacou started in the property business during the financial crash of 2009 and witnessed the subsequent dramatic rise in the rentals market. As a keen entrepreneur he seized the opportunity to set up his own lettings and property management business in 2012 before launching krispyhouse.com's digital platform, when he spotted the urgent need for a digital experience that could serve the market effectively. There are now more tenants than at any point since the millennium, with 20% of people in England and Wales renting. Unsurprisingly, demand for rental accommodation is 33 percent higher than the recorded five-year average. A shortage of rental stock caused by London's increased population, coupled with government policies which have encouraged many landlords to leave the market, has put pressure on renters.
Adding to this pressure, the mainstream rental sector lacks effective infrastructure to manage demand, but proptech firms such as krispyhouse.com are making strides to address this through innovative tech solutions.
A spokesperson from Vala Capital, who represented the family office, commented: "We were impressed with krispyhouse.com's business plan, product and determination to deliver better value for estate agents. Rental demand continues to grow, making this an attractive market, and kripsyhouse.com is an astute challenger to market leaders, Rightmove and Zoopla.
Furthermore, the recent acquisition of OnTheMarket by an international property business shows us there is corporate appetite for this proptech niche. Our family office client was keen to back Anthony Kyriacou, CEO and his team - the team is always a key factor in our investment decision making."
Anthony Kyriacou, CEO, krispyhouse.com, said: "Having spent three years developing our product and building a great team, we launched to market last October and quickly received strong uptake. We are delighted to gain such ringing endorsement from a prestigious family office and this extra funding will help us boost both revenue and market share."
"In an over-regulated market, we're doing our bit to make lives easier for tenants and landlords, as well as giving estate agents exceptional value via quality leads and innovative tools to help them increase their market share of property instructions."
