Property聽rental marketplace Vesta has come in with a figure of 拢2.1m in聽seed funding at first close, with plans to use the money聽on the company’s聽core product offering and nationwide expansion.
The London-based company aims to make buying and investing in buy-to-let property easier and accessible to anyone.
Users can choose to buy a property outright, or invest in a home or group of homes with as little as 拢1,000 but don鈥檛 have to wait for the results of surveys or valuations as properties in the Vesta聽marketplace are brought to market fully documented.
Launching in February 2018 the platform says it has secured the marketing rights for almost 200 tenanted properties, collectively worth more than 拢50m.
鈥淚鈥檓 delighted with the support received from both existing and new investors,鈥� said Vesta CEO Russell Gould.
鈥淲e have a first-class shareholder base, having attracted an incredible calibre of investors who bring far more than just funding, but add invaluable intellectual capital too.
鈥淥ur investors share our belief that Vesta鈥檚 innovative marketplace will revolutionise the private rented sector, bringing together house builders, buy-to-let sellers, buyers and property investors and removing significant market inefficiencies.鈥�
Investors in the company so far include Bob Wigley, chairman of UK Finance and ex-chairman of Merrill Lynch EMEA; David Ritchie, former CEO of Bovis Homes;聽Chris Lacey,聽former head of residential capital markets at CBRE; Keith Morris, former chairman and co-owner of Sabre Insurance; and David Toplas, Vesta鈥檚 founder and CEO of Mill Group.
Plans are now in place to聽target 拢3m in funding following a second and final close in March 2018.