PropertyGuru makes a comeback with fresh funding after failed IPO
Singapore-based real estate listing service provider PropertyGuru Group has raised SG$300 million (around US$220 million) in funding, the company announced in a statement yesterday.
The funding was raised from U.S. global investment giant KKR’s Asian Fund III and American private equity investment firm TPG Capital, the statement noted. Both investors have been long-standing shareholders in the company.
The proptech startup was slated to launch its IPO in Australia late last year but pulled out due to economic and market uncertainties in the background of a slump for Australian exchanges.
Launched in 2007, the digital property marketplace operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. With the fresh capital, the company aims to catalyse its growth strategy across key Southeast Asian markets.
This includes investments in strategic growth avenues such as the mortgaging solution launched this year PropertyGuru Finance, end-to-end sales solution for property developers PropertyGuru FastKey, and data capabilities to support Southeast Asian property seekers in their search for homes, the statement noted.
The company also added to its PropertyGuru FastKey offering by launching PropertyGuru FastKey StoryTeller this year. A virtual reality platform, StoryTeller offers 360-degree immersive walkthroughs of a project and its surrounding areas.
“Since its founding in 2007, PropertyGuru has secured its leadership by continuing to provide increasing value to all its customers and users. We have scaled rapidly across Southeast Asia by anticipating and addressing consumer needs with a data-driven strategy, underpinned by a talented team of ‘Gurus’,” Board Chairman, PropertyGuru, Olivier Lim said in the statement.
“This year, amidst the changing business realities, the demonstrable strength of our platforms has solidified our relative market leadership and provides new opportunities to accelerate both organic and inorganic growth with new investments,” Lim added.
The proptech company was able to beat its 2019 forecasts with 24% revenue growth year-on-year, holding 57% market share (according to SimilarWeb data shared by the company).
“Our strong financial performance over the last few years has enabled us to invest aggressively and smartly, to build what is today an integrated and differentiated technology platform that caters to the unique opportunities in Southeast Asian markets,” CEO and Managing Director, PropertyGuru, Hari V. Krishnan said in the statement.
“The additional investments from TPG and KKR will enable us to continue building Southeast Asia’s property trust platform and accelerate our momentum in key markets like Malaysia and Vietnam,” Krishnan added.
Proptech is taking off well in Southeast Asia. The region recorded the second-most number of deals and undisclosed funding closed in 2019 in the Asia Pacific, despite a funding decline.
Of the $625.9 million raised by proptech startups in the Asia Pacific region, $72.9 million came from Southeast Asian startups.
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