UK’s ‘largest letting agent by listings’ OpenRent raises £4.4m from VC firm

OpenRent, the online-only company that claims to be the largest letting agent in the UK, has secured £4.4 million in funding from a Berlin-based venture capital firm. Global Founder’s Capital, the venture arm of Rocket Internet, is the second organisation to invest in the business since 2014 when Express Newspapers and OK! Magazine owner Northern & Shell gave OpenRent an advertising deal in return for equity in the company. OpenRent has 4,237 properties on its own website but also advertises on Rightmove, Zoopla and PrimeLocation and operates a low-fee basic model that’s free for landlords to use the first time, and then after that £29 for a basic package and £49 for a premium one, which includes tenant referencing, contract drafting, deposit registration and collection of rent. STANDALONE SERVICES The company then also sells standalone services including referencing, gas safety certificate and electrical safety checks, energy performance certificates, inventory services and photos and floor plans. OpenRent says it has 640,627 registered landlords and tenants on its books, promotes itself as the “service high street agents don’t want you to know about” and says it advertised 50,000 properties last year, although it does not reveal how many of these it rented. The…

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