Investment and Funding Roundup: View Media Group, Cove.is, Enso, Stairpay

Cheques are always being signed, and this week we have found some big seven-figure investment rounds in Europe and the United States.

But we'll start in Australia, where a challenger portal has made an interesting acquisition...

View Media Group acquires leading specialist property communications agency The Property Agency

View Media Group (VMG) has acquired The Property Agency, a property communications agency that specialises in creative services for the property category with a focus on strategy, branding and advertising campaigns for off-plan developments.

The terms of the acquisition remain undisclosed.

Antony Catalano, executive chairman at VMG, said:

"We are thrilled to welcome TPA to the VMG family. I’ve been working with the team for many years and could not speak more highly of them as operators and the quality of the work they produce.

"We now complete our full service communications offering for developers & project marketers, adding creative services through TPA to the market-leading strategy, planning and performance media buying services offered by Today Media (formerly The Today Business).

"VMG continues to grow and acquire businesses that will assist us in delivering real value for clients through the property ecosystem we are building. VMG is moving beyond the traditional listings model and becoming a true property marketplace that enables consumers and businesses to transact along the full property journey for life."

VMG, best known as a real estate digital media and technology services business, launched a new, free-to-list portal, View.com.au, in September 2023.

Cove closes $6 million post-Series A funding round

Washington D.C.-based property operations and tenant experience platform Cove has closed a $6 million post-Series A funding round.

Nuveen Real Estate led the round with further participation from O’Shaughnessy Ventures, joining existing investors including Blackstone Innovations Investments and Kastle Systems.

The latest funding comes after a year of significant revenue growth for the startup.

Cove is an integrated platform consolidating tenant experience, operations, and key performance data into one system.

With Cove, landlords can replace multiple systems from different vendors—most commonly, a work order system, a tenant experience app, COI tracking and others—with a single platform that natively powers everything from unlocking doors to executing work orders, preventive maintenance, and inspections.

Adam Segal, co-founder and CEO at Cove, said:

"The market is looking for what’s next in order to operate more efficiently while enhancing the overall experience.

"With the support of preeminent real estate investors like Nuveen and Blackstone, we are able to innovate with forward-thinking partners, leveraging AI and broad integrations to empower operators to do their job more effectively with the end user always in mind."

Coliving startup Enso raises €8.2 million to expand into the Americas

Spanish coliving startup Enso has received an injection of €8.2 million from the American fund XY Booster. This will allow it to open its subsidiary in the United States and Mexico as a starting point for a trans-Atlantic expansion.

Enso is a coliving operator that manages homes in prime locations in major cities. The firm has more than 600 rooms in Barcelona, ​​Madrid, Valencia and Malaga.

Michael Erd Gómez, co-founder and CEO at Enso, said:

"Living in a shared environment with people who inspire you and make you feel at home in a premium space, in the centre of your favourite city and enjoying services such as cleaning, laundry or a private chef that allow you to optimise your time

"With the capital inflow from XY Booster, the initial objective is to open in New York and Mexico City, and demonstrate good growth traction in these areas.

"We have a well-developed model that is ready to be replicated. In fact, we are currently closing an additional round, our 'Series A', which we will soon announce and which will help us work on our expansion in Europe."

Enso, founded in 2020, has previously raised two rounds of financing including a €1.5 million round in 2021 and a €3 million round in 2023. Enso has predicted it will double its revenue from €3 million to €6 million in 2024.

Stairpay raises €890k in pre-seed funding to automate shared ownership

London-based Stairpay has raised a pre-seed investment round worth approximately £750,000 (EUR 890,000) to further develop the platform and onboard more housing associations for its shared ownership and gradual ownership platform.

The round was led by Fuel Ventures, with participation from Heartfelt Ventures and angel investors.

Stairpay's platform simplifies the customer journey of shared ownership and staircasing—whereby a buyer gradually builds towards 100% homeownership over time. Residents can manage their entire shared ownership experience through the Sairpay app.

Floris ten Nijenhuis, Founder at Stairpay, said:

"Stairpay was born out of the desire to solve the challenges faced by first-time buyers looking to get onto the property ladder.

"The UK has the largest shared ownership market globally, but has challenges to address. Our technology provides data and insights to make shared wwnership an even more attractive asset class by determining who it works for."

The firm boasts partnerships including Share to Buy, the largest property portal for shared ownership, to facilitate automatic listing of shared ownership properties for sale.

Further partnerships include leading housing association, Clarion, whereby a two-month pilot saw an additional £1.58m worth of staircasing instructions generated and strong resident engagement with Stairpay's app.

Mike Stevenson, Principal at the leading investor in the round, Fuel Ventures, commented:

"The shared ownership market in the UK is currently facing significant challenges and the results of Stairpay’s pilot with Clarion Housing has demonstrated the potential of innovative solutions to address them.

"By leveraging data, the platform simplifies and enhances the shared ownership experience for both housing associations and residents. We are excited to support Floris and the team in their mission to help more people achieve their dream of owning a home."