Lifull Announces The Acquisition of Thai Brokerage FazWaz

The Japanese portal and aggregator operating company Lifull has announced the acquisition of the Thailand-based portal and brokerage services company FazWaz. The details of the deal were not disclosed.

The acquisition will be effected through Lifull's subsidiary, Lifull Connect which runs aggregation sites Nestoria, Mitula and Trovit as well as the company's many overseas portal operations (dotproperty, Properati, LaEncontré and others) from its Spanish headquarters.

Commenting on the acquisition, Lifull Connect CEO, Mauricio Silber said:

“We are thrilled to welcome FazWaz to the Lifull Connect family. This strategic move is in perfect alignment with our mission of providing innovative technology solutions that empower real estate stakeholders worldwide. By joining forces with FazWaz and Dot Property, we look forward to driving further innovation and delivering seamless, efficient real estate services to our customers. We are excited about the endless possibilities this partnership will bring.”

FazWaz was founded in 2015 by Brennan Campbell, Michael Kenner, and Paul Trayman who together own 73% of shares according to a Lifull release.

The company is a brokerage business operating primarily in Thailand in areas of significant foreign interest in property. It runs a commission-based model with in-house agents and focuses on the secondary market sourcing listings predominantly from private owners and developers.

Although FazWaz has received some financial backing from the likes of Online Marketplaces' Chairman Simon Baker in recent times, it was fully bootstrapped for the first four years of operations.

A Lifull presentation revealed that FazWaz generated around 300 million Japanese Yen (around $2.7m) in revenue in FY 2021 at a positive EBITDA margin. The company's agent count has increased from around 20 in 2020 to around 80 in 2022 and the number of transactions managed has more than doubled in that time to over 440.

The Synergies between FazWaz and Lifull's existing assets in Thailand are clear. The company operates the dotproperty and Hipflat portals in the Thai market and the presentation highlighted the potential Lifull's management sees in the possibility of integrating FazWaz's lead generation and nurturing system into its portal operations.