Marketplace and PropTech Funding Roundup: Cohabs, Ukio, Pashouses, Approva Facil and Wayhome

As Adevinta reports that B2B investments in the online marketplaces space are holding up well despite market downturns worldwide, it is perhaps fitting that we spotted four significant funding rounds in Asia, Europe, the UK and Latin America in the past few days.

Adevinta's B2B marketplaces report studied 500 startups across 14 market segments, with the key takeaway that "B2B Marketplace funding has remained relatively steady during market shakeups", at $6.4 billion in H1 2022 ($7.1b in H1 2021).

Cohabs (Belgium) raises €110 million and sets some ambitious goals

Belgian startup Cohabs has raised a combined €110m of cash and debt to grow its premium co-living business.

Cohabs is a fully integrated co-living platform that both owns and operates its real estate assets, and the company has set a heady goal of owning and managing more than double its current inventory of 1,500 rooms.

Cohabs currently operates in five locations (Brussels, Paris, New York, Madrid and Luxembourg), and the company hopes to have 5,000 bedrooms across 11 locations by the end of 2026.

The funding round was led by global real estate investor Ivanhoé Cambridge, Belfius Insurance and the real estate arm of the Belgian Sovereign Fund. The terms of the deal include $70m cash equity funding and €40m in loans that can be turned into shares in the future. Cohabs has also been reassured that it will receive further cash injections—with a rumoured €250m injection in 2024—if the company meets its goals.

Youri Dauber, CEO at Cohabs, said:

"From the very first meeting with Ivanhoé Cambridge, it was clear we were a good fit. They immediately understood our vision of coliving and shared our fundamental values. They have the experience, resources, and drive to help us reach the next level.

"Combining this dynamic with the belief and support from our historical Belgian investors and our ambition has all the fuel necessary for us to accomplish our goals. Our mission will remain the same: be the most qualitative, sustainable, and member-centric coliving company in the world."

Arnaud Malbos, Head of Investments Europe at Ivanhoé Cambridge, said:

“Cohabs offers everything we are looking for in terms of an innovative concept in an alternative asset class, which aligns with a strong and growing trend in the living sector, and we are confident the company will grow further internationally."

Ukio (Spain) raises €27m in Series A funding round

Barcelona-based flexible renting startup Ukio has raised a combined €27m in its Series A funding round, with €17m in equity and €10m debt coming from the likes of Felix Capital, Kreos Capital, Heartcore and Breega.

Ukio offers a flexible workers specially-curated apartments across Europe, where each apartment is powered by renewable energy, and furnished with items sourced from eco-friendly suppliers by a local designer.

The firm will use the funding to expand its offering to new cities including Paris, Dublin, Milan and London, as well as grow its on-the-ground and in-house teams. Ukio will also invest in its platform and develop a B2B service to cater to international businesses.

Jeremy Fourteau, founder of Ukio, said:

"Finding and renting an apartment for a month or more is still incredibly complex and time-intensive for modern consumers who are used to doing everything and anything digitally.

"Ukio was created to overcome this challenge. We’re building proprietary software tools so it’s easier than ever for people to find the perfect home to stay in, as well as simplify their search and create the essential products and features to provide a high-end service to our guests."

Pashouses (Indonesia) raises $5m Pre-series B in world first

Indonesia-based proptech startup Pashouses has raised a reported $5m in the first deal of its kind.

Pashouses becomes the first company in southeast Asia to receive funding from leading global venture capital firm QED Investors, which has invested in 12 proptech companies worldwide.

Pashouses will use the funds to grow its end-to-end transactional marketplace—buying and selling houses in Jakarta from brokerage and renovation to staging and mortgage. The company uses technology to create a path to homeownership that helps buyers make informed decisions about how much to pay for a property to the type of financing structures available.

Sandeep Patil, Investors Partner and Head of Asia at QED, said:

"As we saw in India, the opportunities for companies to make immediate and lasting change is tremendous."

"Southeast Asia boasts a vast and growing economy. Taken together, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam would be the seventh-largest economy and third-most populous country in the world. With a median age of 30 years, it is no wonder that smartphones are everywhere, and tech is being adopted across all walks of life."

Junghans Tasani, CEO at Pashouses:

"We are excited to tap into QED's experience from fintech solutions in growth markets, especially in view of macroeconomic conditions globally."

Approva Facil (Brazil) raises $4m amid expansion plans

Approva Facil has raised R$ 19 million ($4m) as it looks to evolve its product and expand its Rio de Janeiro-based marketplace into São Paulo. The funding round was led by real estate-focused venture capital Terracotta Ventures.

It has been a quick rise for the business. Approve Facil was only founded in 2021 but already has 20,000 properties on its portal and has sold roughly 2,000 properties this year. The firm also has roughly 60 regional and national property developer business partners in addition to an agreement with Brazil's state-led housing program.

Approva Fácil's projections include going from the current 2,000 to 60,000 brokers connected to its service platform by the end of 2024, and adding at least 90% of the entire primary offer in the budget real estate segment in São Paulo, from R$ 4 billion to R$ 20 billion in Potential Sales Value (PSV) by 2023.

Approva Facil is led by experienced real estate professionals—CEO Delmo Simões founded and led Brazil-based marketplace Inova Imobiliária as CEO from 2012-2020, while COO Eduardo Pradal co-founded two real estate marketplaces: Corretor da Vez (where he was CEO) and Movia (Director).

CEO Simões said:

"Buying a home is a common denominator among Brazilians and it is more difficult to realize this dream in the most common income range. The platform digitally articulates and reduces the bureaucracy of the entire process with a focus on these citizens.

"We want to go where no one has had the courage to go until today in the real estate sector, which is the periphery." [translated from Portuguese]

Wayhome (UK) raises £3m+ in crowdfunded gradual homeownership offer

Wayhome, a UK-based home financing company, has broken its £3m target as it seeks to offer a new way to buy a home piece by piece without a mortgage.

448 investors raised £3,087,500 in the public crowdfunding campaign to buy up more properties, with investors receiving payouts over the long term.

Wayhome had already raised an initial £75m to buy an estimated 65 homes, with another 100 offers accepted.

Wayhome allows buyers to purchase a slice of a property up-front with as little as a 5% deposit, with the buyer then paying the rent on the outstanding value. Wayhome's funding partners pay for the rest of the property, with the buyer paying less rent as they buy more of the property month-by-month.