Loft Buys TrueHome in Mexico

Brazilian property marketplace Loft has entered the Mexican market with the purchase of start-up TrueHome for an undisclosed sum.

Loft has been a minority investor in the firm since early 2020, and the move is seen as the start of the company’s expansion throughout the region.

The purchase has been made with a combination of cash and stock.

Loft Chief Executive Officer Mate Pencz said: "We have been looking to expand into Mexico almost from the beginning, and we have a global ambition for the company,"

Mexico was identified as the most interesting market for Loft after Brazil, given the size of the country and the problems to be solved with technology, such as false advertising and a lack of transparency.

TrueHome’s founders Raúl Villarreal and Álvaro Cepeda will remain in control of the Mexican business, with TrueHome’s shareholders set to become Loft investors as part of the deal.

This latest deal is the fourth this year for Loft, which previous acquisitions included a traditional real estate broker and rental contract guarantee firm. It had secured Series D funding of US$425 million in April 2021.

Founded in 2018, Loft is among a cohort of Latin American end-to-end property marketplaces making a real impact on the way property is transacted throughout the region. As well as non-traditional marketplace sites in Brazil such as QuintoAndar and Aocubo, companies such as La Haus and Aptuno in Colombia and Homie in Mexico are all thriving by breaking down traditional transaction barriers in the region.

Founded in 2017, TrueHome is now set to be seen as the ‘Loft of Mexico’, with the company's team structure and offices in the country to be used by the Brazilian operation.

Further expansion for Loft is not being ruled out.

"We may still make some acquisitions if the opportunity is attractive, but the focus now is to organically grow the new pillars we have added to our business," concluded Pencz.