A start-up company run by a tenant living as one of six in a house share has raised £800,000 from angel investors to take its ideas further.
In particular, it is looking for business relationships with agents.
Splittable, which handles how tenants sharing properties split bills, is also backed by London mayor Boris Johnson who specifically mentioned it as an example of new ideas.
The London-based proptech company is designed to stop tenants falling out how over how much they spent on milk in the fridge – but does go a lot further than that.
It has raised money from venture capital groups, and also angel investors.
Tellingly, it expressed in dollars ($1,200,000) the money it has raised in its latest update to journalists about the money raised.
Splittable launched in April and since then claims to have signed up “tens of thousands” of housemates.
Its new money will be used to grow the business and fund an integrated payments platform.
That means tenants would be able able to pay for various household services through a single interface.
Nick Katz, co-founder and self-styled ‘chief housemate’, said: “Dealing with shared expenses in the home can be a huge source of conflict.
“I learned the hard way, falling out with a friend over our household bills. I’ve come across countless problems in my time sharing nine properties in London.
“Our vision is to harmonise the relationship between people and their homes, creating the best experience of living together.
“We’ve demonstrated that Splittable can help improve the lives of renters globally. We’re thrilled to have the backing of these top investors to deliver on our vision and support more renters through their often frustrating house-sharing journey.”
Splittable is looking to develop partnerships with lettings agents and others who focus on student and young professional lettings.
Its angel investors include Lord David Young, former enterprise adviser to the prime minister, and Simon Lambert of Wahanda.
Comments (3)
The London Borough Of Newham have introduced compulsory licensing for privately rented properties, at £500 a pop, that severely restricts the number of unrelated occupants to stop tenants sharing accommodation. Apparently Newham don’t want anymore sharers in the area but are happy with large families. Interesting since there is a massive shortage of social housing in the poorer boroughs and a very high percentage of families looking for accommodation in Newham are benefit claimants. No so good for Splitable and even worse for the private landlords. Waltham Forest and Dagenham & Redbridge have also introduced licencing.
The London Borough Of Newham have introduced compulsory licensing for privately rented properties, at £500 a pop, that severely restricts the number of unrelated occupants to stop tenants sharing accommodation. Apparently Newham don’t want anymore sharers in the area but are happy with large families. Interesting since there is a massive shortage of social housing in the poorer boroughs and a very high percentage of families looking for accommodation in Newham are benefit claimants. Waltham Forest and Dagenham & Redbridge have also introduced licencing.
This is a business aimed at taking small slices from lots of financial transactions rather than a proptech business.
More evidence of the early boom in the sector though