Nested, the startup that simplifies selling your home, has raised £120m in funds as they continue to disrupt estate agency in the UK. The round consists of £100m in debt financing from an institutional investor, and £20m in equity from leading European VCs Northzone and Balderton Capital, bringing total funding for the growing business to £165m.
Launched in 2016, Nested is the first estate agent to make home sellers chain-free. The company
provide a cash advance on the value of the property enabling customers to become cash buyers,
speeding up the process of moving home. Since launching, Nested has experienced rapid growth, helping over 400 homeowners during a period of market uncertainty with home sales falling 12% over the last year and 61% of homes for sale in London withdrawing from the market without selling, an effect of a slowing market in anticipation of Brexit.
Nested is driven by a mission to fix the broken housing market, bringing honesty to a traditionally opaque industry. In addition to the unique cash advance, Nested have built a strong reputation with customers for transparent and data-driven valuations, offering vastly improved accuracy compared to high-street estate agents. To back-up it’s ability to value homes accurately, Nested make their valuation performance public.
Matt Robinson, CEO of Nested, said: “We’re excited to receive the backing from some of Europe’s top VCs who share our vision for fixing the age-old problem of buying and selling homes. We are building an incredible team to offer an unassailable service with the most progressive technology in the property industry. This investment will allow us to continue solving the problems that prevent people from moving home with ease.”
Jeppe Zink, Partner at Northzone, said: “Selling a home is the biggest and most important transaction most people undertake. Yet the sales process remains opaque, with the resulting never-ending property chains becoming the bane of the industry. I was immediately convinced by Matt’s vision for Nested to fix this, giving home-sellers an accurate view, backed by an advance, of the price they can achieve for their property. This means they can have peace of mind and the freedom to focus on securing their new dream home. I truly believe that Nested can be a fundamental game-changer and we are incredibly excited to be part of the journey.”
1 12% decrease in Residential Property Transactions from Sept 2017 to Sept 2018: HMRC Property Transactions
2 61% of homes listed for sale in London withdraw from the market: Dataloft & Reapit
3 Nested sell for an average of 1.5% more than the average valuation: Nested Performance
About Nested: Fixing home selling in the UK
Nested is an estate agent with a difference. It provides home sellers with up to 95% of their homes value when they need it and the rest when it sells, helping them to secure their dream home and providing certainty in an uncertain market. The innovative start-up was founded by established entrepreneurs, Matt Robinson (former GoCardless co-founder and current Board member) Phil Cowans (former Songkick CTO) and trained architect, James Turford.
Nested does all the work of a traditional estate agent, but unlike other agents it provides additional
value-add services including; experts at every step of the process including a dedicated progression
team, data-driven, transparent valuations, and an advance of up to 95% of the market value. If the home sells above this amount the seller will receive that too (minus their fees) and if it sells for less, Nested will take the loss.
