Investment and Funding Roundup: Immowelt, Libeen, PropHero

This week's funding and investment roundup starts in Germany, where immowelt (part of the Aviv Group) has closed its third acquisition in a month...

Europe: immowelt acquires financing broker BauDarlehen24

The real estate platform immowelt has acquired the independent financing broker BauDarlehen24 from Berlin. The terms of the acquisitions were undisclosed, but the management of BauDarlehen24 and its team will remain on board.

Immowelt, which belongs to the international AVIV Group, is continuing to expand its portfolio of services relating to property searches and purchases—BauDarlehen24 arranges property financing from more than 500 banks, savings banks, building societies and insurance companies.

BauDarlehen24's consulting services will also be integrated into immowelt platforms in the coming months.

Piet Derriks, Managing Director of immowelt, said:

"The service from BauDarlehen24 perfectly complements our platforms. 9 out of 10 property buyers in Germany need a bank loan - with BauDarlehen24's many years of experience and wide range of services, those looking for a property will not only find their dream property with us, but also the right financing at the best conditions.

Ait Voncke, CEO at AVIV Group, said:

"With the takeover of BauDarlehen24, we as the AVIV Group are consistently pursuing our goal in Germany: to make the purchase of a property as easy and smooth as possible. With just a few clicks, those searching on our portals can also request advice directly from BauDarlehen24."

Commenting on his personal LinkedIn page, Voncke added, "This strategic move strengthens our ability to offer a seamless, end-to-end experience for property buyers—from finding the perfect home to securing the best financing."

Last month, Aviv Germany closed the acquisitions of two tax businesses, Nutzungsdauer.com and Kaufpreis-Aufteilung.com.

Rent-to-own proptech Libeen raises €25 million

Spain-based rent-to-own proptech company Libeen has raised €25.0 million ($25.9 million U.S.), according to EU Startups.

The round, made of debt and equity, was led by AndBank, existing investor Cusp Capital, and others.

The company says it plans to help over 130 families secure housing in the coming months and projects sustained growth by the end of 2025.

Libeen rents apartments with an option to buy. Libeen purchases the property chosen by the client and establishes a Smarthousing contract. With an initial deposit of 5% and monthly payments, where circa one-third of each payment goes toward savings for the purchase. Within 3-7 years, clients are ready to formalise a mortgage and become homeowners.

According to Libeen, the business has enabled 100% of its clients to secure mortgages through its Smarthousing programme within three years.

José Manuel Cartes, CEO and Co-founder of Libeen, said:

"The homebuying market no longer meets the needs of younger generations. Only 3 out of 10 young people under the age of 35 have been able to access homeownership. Our goal is to offer solutions tailored to their reality, helping them build equity without requiring a large initial down payment. This is just the beginning—we are already working on an additional funding line of over €100 million, which will allow us to purchase more than 600 homes. We aim to create products that people love and that help them build a better future."

Sofia Iturbe, COO and co-founder at Libeen, added, "Our model has demonstrated a 100% success rate in turning renting into a stepping stone to homeownership, and with this funding, we aim to multiply our impact."

Oceania: Australian proptech PropHero raises $15.9 million Series A round

Prophero has raised A$25 million (USD 15.89 million) to develop and enhance its generative AI real estate wealth advisory platform.

The round was led by Bailador Technology Investments and previous investors Fifth Wall, Samaipata, AfterWork Ventures, and Jelix Ventures. Other participants included Opera Tech Ventures.

PropHero is a Sydney-based technology company that harnesses artificial intelligence (AI) and big data to identify property investment opportunities. The firm, founded in 2021, wants to scale into a global one-stop-shop platform for real estate investment.

The business helps individuals source, purchase and manage investment properties, aided by predictive AI models that aggregate data from over 100 sources.

PropHero’s offering operates on a fixed fee model to give users tailored investment property recommendations based on their budgets and financial goals. Customers also gain access to a vetted marketplace of partners across conveyancing, mortgage broking, renovations, property management, and insurance to help manage their investment property.

PropHero also offers a free service that allows unpaid customers to track the value of properties that were not purchased on the platform, which has around 8,000 users across 40-plus countries.

Mikael Roger, co-founder and co-CEO at PropHero, said:

"This raise will help us deliver our vision of offering everyone a real estate wealth advisor in their pocket, powered by Generative AI. Our mission is to transform real estate for the greater good: delivering high returns for investors, great living conditions for tenants, and energy savings through renovations."

PropHero’s Australia CEO Suvidh Arora says the round was oversubscribed by more than two-fold:

"We are incredibly proud of the strong interest from high-profile global investors who believe in our vision. Our mission is to make property investment more accessible, with a particular focus on Millennials who are navigating a challenging housing market and seeking smarter, data-driven solutions to build their wealth."