OpenRent is a London-based online letting agent, founded in 2012, that provides property advertising and tenancy creation and management tools for landlords and tenants. Its paid services include a £29 "tenant find" option plus add-ons for contracts, reference checks, and gas and electrical safety, though it does not handle viewings. OpenRent says it advertised 50,000 rental properties last year and claims to be the biggest letting agent in the U.K. by number of listings. The company operates with low margins compared with traditional high-street agencies and a small but growing team of around ten people. Key operating metrics cited include a time-to-let of about 8 days versus roughly three weeks for a high-street agent. The new capital will be used to hire developers to accelerate product development and build out a broader range of landlord features. OpenRent provides a suite of services for landlords and tenants, including property advertising, tenancy creation and management tools, and optional paid features such as contracts, reference checks, and gas and electrical safety. Pricing starts at £29 for its tenant-find feature. The company was founded in 2012 and has been profitable since about January 2013, though margins are described as extremely tight. Rather than raising venture capital to hire or build infrastructure, OpenRent pursued greater exposure to landlords through paid media. To accelerate awareness and brand building it initiated a national television advertising campaign and broader media reach. The firm negotiated a media-for-equity arrangement to obtain a substantial discount on required media spend while expanding its user base.

Total raised

$5M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Mar 2017