MILAN-BASED PROPTECH STARTUP Casavo BAGS €400 MILLION AS IT SHAKES UP EUROPE’S PROPERTY MARKET
Over the years notably from 2017, startup Casavo has been influencing the property market in Southern Europe. Founded in Milan by ‘Giorgio Tinacci’, the proptech’s platform is reshaping the way the property market operates, with the aid of a distinct and innovative business model. However, the company has just announced €400 million in a Series D funding round.
As one of Europe’s fastest-growing proptechs, it was noted that the fresh fund comes little more than a year after a €200 million Series C which positioned the company at the aforementioned status in the subject geography.
Frankly, a €100 million equity portion was led by Exor, whilst the additional €300 million was led by Viola Credit and Intesa Sanpaolo. Other investors include ‘Endeavor Catalyst’, ‘Fuse Venture Partners’, ‘Neva SGR’ (Intesa Sanpaolo Group), ‘Hambro Perks’, as well as angel investor Sébastien de Lafond. The round also witnessed the participation of existing investors, 360 Capital, Project A Ventures, P101 SGR, Picus Capital, and Bonsai Partners.
REIMAGINING THE PROPERTY MARKET
The subject startup takes a unique look at the property market – an indication that it’s up to something. The subject company offers free appraisals to sellers, generates a quick offer, purchases it, and then renovates it to sell at a profit. Flipping houses in the subject region (Southern Europe), Casavo has really gained traction in its native Italy and Spain and expanded to Portugal this year. It’s been observed that the model works pretty well in this part of the continent, and there are a number of properties available that have a lot to offer but are sitting either derelict and/ or haven’t changed hands for decades which are in great need of refurbishment.
Regarding the startup’s technological platform – ‘Instant Buyer’ – startup Casavo is fundamentally offering a new experience on how people sell and buy homes in Europe. It uses a dynamic pricing model to evaluate the financial potential of each home, figuring out by calculating what the value will be post-refurbishment based on data it has on similar properties.
Furthermore, the startup’s user base grew 3x in 2021 according to the report and has handled €1 billion worth of transactions.
“This combination of equity and debt is a recognition of our relentless focus on sustainable growth and confidence in our long-term vision. The round will allow us to consolidate our leadership in Europe by growing across our existing markets in Italy, Spain, and Portugal, while expanding into new ones, with France being a priority. We’ll continue investing in our mission to simplify the way people sell and buy homes, having evolved from a pure home-buying platform to a leading next-generation European residential marketplace”, the founder and CEO Tinacci said.
WHAT’S NEXT
While it has been observed that the property market might have been slow to digitize compared to other sectors, it’s believed there is plenty of space for fresh innovation in the sector. This is because property investment continues to be one of the most popular investment areas, however, despite wider economic concerns, platforms like Casavo are understood to have a real market potential to continue growing.
Having proven itself as a worthy company in this space – commanding a high value of the market share in Spain and Italy even as it is growing fast in Portugal. As it doubles down on its effort, Casavo intends to expand to France, a market with huge potential. In view of this, the subject startup intends to add an additional 200 people to the already existing 400 by next year. It’s also doubling down on product development in order to emerge as an all-in-one property provider, with the capability to offer mortgages and so on.
Exor Seeds’ Noam Ohana, commented: “Casavo is becoming the clear European PropTech leader and we are excited to continue the journey with Giorgio. Despite turbulent market conditions, the team has executed extremely well to date and we are optimistic about the future”.
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