Firm switching agents on behalf of sellers wins £500k cash injection

A PropTech firm that lists a customer’s home with successive estate agents until it is sold has raised £500,000 of startup funding.

BestBid’s website it claims that an average estate agency sells only 57 per cent of its listings and 38 per cent of its listings never even get one offer. 

“Call us and we'll tell you the listing-sale rate of the agent you are considering using. That’s why we manage multi-agent sale process using the agents with the most buyers. Your property is marketed online as usual, but we get you more buyers than a sole agent can” it urges.

Elsewhere on the website it describes what happens after a vendor gets in touch: “We call you to gather more information about your sale and discuss the best agents in your area. We've already researched their activity online.

“We discuss with you the agents who can offer the most buyers right away. You'll have final say on which agents to use.

“You only sign with us. You do not need to enter into a contract with each agent. We subcontract them.

“Pay us 1.5 per cent plus VAT at the end of your sale. We'll pay the agent that delivers the buyer. No sale, no fee.”

It adds that it’s process “generates far more viewings and stops clients getting stuck.”

The Times reports that founder Tom Scarborough came up with the idea after struggling to sell his home. 

He says he switched agents rather than lower the asking price and found he “generated more viewings, more tension and more buyers”.

Scarborough, a former investment director, claims his company is the first of its kind. It is based in Victoria, central London, and launched in September.

BestBid has just three employees but has attracted investment from, amongst others, LoveFilm co-founder William Reeve and the venture capital firm Hambro Perks.

Read more here.

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