Fintech startup Acre has just secured €7.3 million for its tech platform that’s shaking up the process of buying property. The London-based team now plans to scale and secure new partnerships.
Buying a home is one of life’s more stressful moments. It’s a mighty commitment and requires a lot of patience, determination and courage. It requires a lot of money and time and is a process notoriously full of paperwork and slow processes.
Acre is on a mission to radically rethink the process. The startup takes tech to property purchasing with the end goal of making owning a home faster, easier, more transparent, and, cheaper. Now, the startup has secured €7.3 million in new investment. The McPike Global Family Office (MGFO), joins returning investors Aviva and Founders Factory in this round.
Justus Brown, CEO and founder of Acre said: “We pride ourselves on being at the forefront of innovation in financial advice, delivering a new, modern approach that simplifies the advice journey for brokers and delivers on the needs of clients. This latest fundraise demonstrates our strength and commitment to the market and supercharges our ambitions as the tech platform of choice for brokers.”
Born out of the Founders Factory incubator (in cooperation with Aviva), Acre’s broker platform uses blockchain technology to put data at the centre of getting a mortgage. The result is a process that is more informed, accurate and smoother.
Justus Brown: “For many homebuyers, the financial turmoil of last year led to a greater appreciation of mortgage brokers and this trend is continuing into 2023. We give brokers the right tools, data and insight at the click of a button, so that they can excel at delivering speedy, efficient advice that meets the individual requirements of each case in a dynamic market.”
The startup has been growing fast since its last fundraise in 2019. It reports that in 2022, the platform grew to over 1300 users, representing over £10 billion in annual mortgage volume, a 10x growth over the year. The platform also signed its first protection-only firm in 2022, Intrinsic House. This is in addition to some fast-growing networks, including Cornerstone Finance Group and Beneficial Network, joining the Acre ecosystem and integrations with different lenders, such as Santander and TSB.
Ant Barker, Head of Venture Investments & Partnerships at Aviva commented: “Acre represents the future of a tech-led mortgage market. Aviva Ventures are delighted to continue to support Justus and his team on Acre’s journey to deliver much-needed tech innovation that benefits homebuyers, brokers and lenders.”
With this new investment, the company wants to maintain this growth and pursue the vision of radically changing how people buy homes. It’ll roll out new partnerships with lenders and insurers that help its brokers recommend and apply for the right financial products and services as efficiently as possible.
Drew Colaiezzi, private investments manager with MGFO added: “We are excited to further our partnerships with Founders Factory and Aviva, and believe Acre is truly an all-encompassing innovative platform that is ripe to take advantage of the quickly evolving UK mortgage market. Justus is a phenomenal operator and has positioned Acre to scale rapidly while demonstrating its significant market disruption capabilities. Grateful for the opportunity to be a part of leading the charge in the technology revolution within the UK mortgage market.”
