London-based PropTech startup Goodlord raises $13M Series B funding to create world’s best renting experience

Goodlord, a London, UK-based property technology startup has raised $13 million (£10 million) Series B to make renting simple and transparent for everyone involved by using its mobile-friendly technology to streamline the lettings process for agents, landlords and tenants.

Backers for this round include Latitude Ventures, the Series B+ sister fund to LocalGlobe known for backing scaling European success stories such as Transferwise, Zoopla, Monzo, TravelPerk, and SecretEscapes. This round was also backed by Finch Capital, leaders in the European fintech space, and welcomed Oxx as a new investor. Oxx recently raised $133 million to back “Europe’s most promising SaaS companies” at Series A and beyond. Goodlord will also use the funding to invest in its engineering, product, and customer-facing teams.

Founded in 2014 by Philip Mundy, Richard White, and Tom Mundy,  Goodlord’s cloud-based software digitizes tenancy creation and progression, allowing Goodlord to cut pointless, time-consuming administration for agents while transforming the tenant and landlord experience. Goodlord also provides a shop-front for agents to easily offer services which provide more value to their tenants and landlords, such as insurance and utility services.

Goodlord’s core platform means the rental process – from contracts and referencing to payments – can be handled through one simple interface, with no need for paper or multiple stakeholders. This creates a seamless process for what can otherwise be a stressful and bureaucratic experience for tenants. For landlords and letting agents, the technology saves crucial amounts of time, unlocks new revenue streams, ensures compliance with the evolving legislative landscape, and creates opportunities to offer tenants value-add services, such as insurance.

Following this investment, the team has ambitious plans to double their client base and expand their suite of products, delivering on their goal to create the world’s best renting experience for the 10+ million UK households living in the private and social rental sector.

“For many people under the age of 40 the rental market is the housing market and Goodlord is passionate about modernising it for millions of people. By creating software that increases the professionalism of letting agents and reduces the stress of finding and securing a home to rent, Goodlord is supplying an essential service to meet a key need. With more people predicted to be renting than owning by 2039, we’re delighted to back Goodlord on its mission to create the best rental experience in the world,” Julian Rowe from Latitude Ventures, who is joining the Goodlord board, said.

Commenting on the funding, Bob Thomas, Investment Manager at Oxx, said: “Goodlord is a great example of the power of software: to replace complexity with clarity and transparency. By connecting counterparties across the property rental transaction, Goodlord solves a significant problem for agents, landlords and tenants. With UK agents reporting that the greatest pain they face is the back office administration and increasing compliance associated with managing tenancies, Goodlord automates away this administrative burden and, in doing so, makes the rental process simple and transparent for all involved.

“As rentals become an increasing share of the UK housing mix, the importance of improving the rental transaction for agents, tenants and landlords is enormous. Goodlord is leading this market forward, and we are delighted to back their world-class team as they develop one of the UK’s most significant technology businesses.”

Goodlord’s co-founder Tom Mundy started the company in 2014 in order to transform the rental process. Serial entrepreneur William Reeve (co-founder of LOVEFiLM, Founding Director of Zoopla) took the helm as CEO in early 2018. In 2019, the company doubled both its headcount (from 47 to 97) and customer numbers.

“Last year saw hundreds of businesses join Goodlord and we’re delighted to be starting 2020 by welcoming the investors Latitude Ventures and Oxx Capital.” Goodlord CEO, William Reeve, added.

“Despite the UK rental sector having grown to over 10m households, a deeply flawed process remains the status quo, which is stressful for tenants and time-consuming for agents. Our mission to provide the best rental experience in the world remains as relevant as ever and, with this new investment, we have the tools we need to achieve it.”

Over the past 12 months, Goodlord has introduced new products and platform updates to help agents and landlords stay compliant following the implementation of Tenant Fee Bans in England and Wales. The company also expanded their service to cover corporate lets, brought in extended insurance provisions, and introduced virtual banking technology for customers.