Image credit www.huffingtonpost.co.uk A property search engine launched in January this year Proptyle says its tech and services provide significant savings to estate agents balking at the cost of advertising fees on leading portals like Rightmove and Zoopla. Founders Yash and Tej Patel say they launched the company with the specific aim of helping agents dramatically cut their expenses so that they can reallocate these cost savings towards vendors and landlords. Specialising in banking and telecommunications, the Patel brothers say their "next generation" hybrid vertical search platform works like Google, Nestoria or Mitula but displays as a portal. Because the listings are just links to agents’ websites, inventory displayed

Zoopla Property Group (ZPG) claims it delivered record levels of valuation leads sent to its agent members in the first six months of 2016 up 40 per cent on the same period in 2015. The company also says toral listings were up 4 per cent year on year. Zoopla says the total estimated value of the leads sent to ZPG members during this period is worth £104 million in potential fees to its members. Total visits to ZPG's property platform was also up 4 per cent for the first six months of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015. In

Plentific founders Cem Savas and Emre Kazan. Image credit: Startups.co.uk Home services marketplace Plentific is one of several property start-ups to secure funding of late as it looks to tap into the £235bn home improvement sector. Plentific, the Startups-100 listed marketplace connecting homeowners with tradesman, has secured £2m in a round which involved London-based property accelerator Pi Labs and a number of angel investors. Read the full story on Startups.co.uk

Zoopla CEO Alex Chesterman Alex Chesterman, CEO of Zoopla and recent recipient of an OBE, is one of the names behind a legal challenge to Brexit. London law firm Mishcon de Reya is putting together a team who could mount a legal challenge if the government launches the Article 50 process - which would see the UK officially leave the EU - without first securing an Act of Parliament. The firm said it was acting on behalf of a number of an unnamed group of clients. "If the correct constitutional process is not followed then the notice to withdraw from the EU

Zoopla Property Group has partnered with prop-tech company Vieweet to launch Smart Viewing, the world’s first remote-viewing platform. Available from the Zoopla site, the new solution solves the age-old problem of property consumers not having enough time to view as many properties as they wish. It enables house hunters to view property remotely from the comfort of their own home. Instead of having to get the vendor, landlord, agent and prospective buyer or tenant to each attend the property at the same time, Smart Viewing allows all interested parties to take part in an interactive viewing event via Zoopla, from anywhere in the world. Carried out in real time, the viewings

Zoopla has introduced “Get to know the neighbourhood” a new feature offered with each listing providing school ratings, crime statistics, amenities and other neighbourhood information. The tool, provided by Property Detective will be offered with an introductory price of £9.99, discounted from £17.99. Property Industry Eye (EYE) says one agent explained the strategy as a way for Zoopla to monetise estate agents’ listings. However, EYE confirms the Zoopla service is much cheaper, even at the undiscounted price than going through the Property Detective site – although the offerings may differ. "The Property Detective site has some free features, but a full report has to be

Opun founders John Cushing (left) and CEO Rod Brown UK online property startup Opun, which raised £3 million Series A funding from Aviva Ventures in April, tells Property Portal Watch the capital is being used to remove the worries consumers face when improving their home. Head of Marketing Ben Ridgway says the company is currently investing in building a great team of 'Home Improvement Personal Asistants' (HIPAs) based out of Opun's new Stoke office in the UK region of North Staffordshire. "We have more Trade Partner Advisors to help on the supply side and we’re investing heavily in our technology platform to give consumers a great and

Zoopla Property Group is planning new investment in PrimeLocation, its premium property-listings brand, AIMGroup reports. The report says Primelocation.com has undergone a complete overhaul and will be relaunched with a supporting, nationwide advertising campaign. The new site (not yet unveiled) has been created to appear contemporary, with greater differentiation for area sponsorship and premium listings which will have a fresh look unique to PrimeLocation. Zoopla says the new site has been designed to attract more home movers to the site, so it can deliver greater results to members. The investment ends long-running speculation among agents as to whether the PrimeLocation brand would

The brightLET team, CEO Shana Owen pictured in the centre BrightLET, a cloud based lettings and property management platform which connects landlords directly with tenants in the UK  has expanded into the commercial property market. The Birmingham-based startup was one of 12 companies selected by Innovation Birmingham Campus’ Serendip Smart City Incubator, a new offering aimed at accelerating the growth of digital start-ups by co-locating them with large corporate partners. brightLET provides a 360-degree service which enables users to advertise, find a property, communicate and manage tenancies online without using a third party. The new commercial property solution will provide multi user access, enabling

Image Credit: Express.co.uk Property portals haven't escaped fallout from the Brexit referendum in the UK although traditional property firms felt the brunt of a tumultuous day on the markets. According to Estate Agent Today (EAT), hybrid agency Purplebricks was down as much as 25 points, or over 15 per cent while both Rightmove and Zoopla took hits. At midday on Monday Rightmove was down over 350 points, roughly 10 per cent of its value, while Zoopla was down approaching 35 points or roughly 12 per cent of its value. According to Property Industry Eye (EYE) new Rightmove listings over the weekend were actually very slightly up (1.3