Irish proptech start-up Offr has raised £2.7m in seed funding, led by Barclays, for its launch in the UK and Australia.
Existing investors Delta Partners, on behalf of Bank of Ireland, AIB, Enterprise Ireland, The European Investment Fund and Frontline Ventures also participated in the round.
The firm joined Barclays’ London accelerator programme earlier this year, and was selected as a candidate for follow-on investment.
The proptech platform, which launched in September last year, offers end-to-end digital residential and commercial property transactions. It digitises 85% of the buying, selling and leasing process for both agents and buyers.
It sold its first property entirely online on 24 March – during lockdown – for 61% above the asking price.
The seed funding brings Offr’s total funds raised to date to more than £3.6m.
As well as international expansion, the company plans to further develop its transaction infrastructure platform over the next 12 months to cover all types of properties across traditional and auction. This includes the sale of homes, residential lettings, commercial sales and leases.
Robert Hoban, co-founder and chief executive of Offr, said: “Covid has changed the landscape completely, it closed off real estate; we’re bringing it online.
“We built Offr with a clear and simple goal, to change the way property is bought and sold; to make it faster, more transparent and more enjoyable for real estate agents, buyers and everyone else involved in the process.
“The fact is, the stress, uncertainty and longevity of buying and selling property are just products of an outdated, yet somehow accepted system. We made it our goal to address these problems.”
Hoban was formerly a director and senior auctioneer at Allsop Ireland and BidX1. The two other co-founders are chief commercial officer Philip Farrell and chief technology officer Niall Dawson.
To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@egi.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @estatesgazette
