Banco Santander Invests in Spanish iBuyer

The Spanish bank Santander is to invest in Clickalia, an iBuyer with operations in Madrid and Barcelona. The investment is to include debt facilities and will come via Mouro Capital, a VC firm in which Santander has placed its trust.

Since its foundation in 2017, Clickalia has completed some 500 transactions totaling around €90 million and has a staff of around 80 split between Madrid and Barcelona. The company is essentially an iBuyer that promises to give owners a quote for their property in 24 hours and a completed sale within 7 days while aiming to renovate and put the homes it buys back on the market within 120 days having made them more energy efficient. Like all iBuyers, the company puts enormous emphasis on its use of data and according to a press release, unlike American iBuyers, has been EBITDA positive since day one.

The involvement of the largest financial entity in the country in an iBuying venture, albeit indirectly, is a huge vote of confidence for the viability of the business model in Spain. Thanks to the prevalence of urbanizations and the predominance of apartment living in Spanish cities, there is a high degree of uniformity in the national housing stock. This coupled with the relatively high periods properties remain on the market in the country may be the reason behind Santander’s investment as well as Italian iBuyer Casavo’s decision to expand to Spain earlier this year.