GetRentr raises £500k in seed funding round

Geo-spatial powered property compliance platform GetRentr has raised more than £500,000 from a group of investors including Life Ventures, EPIC Private Equity LLP and a number of private individuals.

Founded by Orla Shields, Alex Schembri and Richard Lainchbury, GetRentr uses artificial intelligence to track all UK property licensing regulations and consultations in real time and provides an automated service that enables agents and property managers to ensure their property portfolios are always compliant.

The company was selected for the Geovation 2018 cohort for its innovative use of both property data and geospatial mapping. Geovation is an Ordnance Survey Initiative in association with HM Land Registry, which is dedicated to supporting open innovation and collaboration using location and property data.

GetRentr states its mission is to use data and technology to allow agents and landlords to easily comply with regulation, ensuring that the accommodation provided to their tenants is safe and meets required standards. GetRentr also hopes rogue landlords can be exposed, ensuring that no tenant has to live in unsafe, substandard accommodation again.

Commenting on the successful funding round, CEO Orla Shields said: “This investment comes from an incredible group of investors, who add significant value well beyond their funds, bringing expertise that will help us accelerate both our market reach and our development roadmap. We are excited to work with these investors, and this additional funding will allow us to bring more features to more markets. This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of our long term vision and expansion plans.”

Jon Werth, CEO of Life Ventures explained what they found appealing about the team and product. “When we first came across them we had no idea anyone was doing something like this and we were really impressed with what they had developed. We approached Orla who came over to see our office and saw how we do things and met the other tech start-ups we have invested in. We’re having major headaches with licensing at the moment and GetRentr can help us solve them and offer a better service to our landlords”.

GetRentr is already working with a number of letting agents in the industry and has a partnership in place with the National Landlords’ Association.