Launched in 2016 by ex-MD of CitiGroup, Sebastien Goldenberg, and serial property entrepreneur, Nick Marr, TheHouseShop was created with the aim of bringing the entire property market under one roof.
UK digital property marketplace TheHouseShop has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube, allowing investors and the general public to own a part of the company.
Launched in 2016 by ex-MD of CitiGroup, Sebastien Goldenberg, and serial property entrepreneur, Nick Marr, TheHouseShop was created with the aim of bringing the entire property market under one roof.
Unlike the big agent-only portals, Rightmove and Zoopla, TheHouseShop developed an ‘Amazon-style’ marketplace with private individuals and estate agents sitting alongside each other, by offering them free access to the platform.
Nick Marr, co-founder of TheHouseShop, said: “Modern consumers want to see all their options in one place, but until now, none of the main players in the property market have delivered a platform that meets this demand. TheHouseShop is here to change that.
“We’ve always loved the idea of offering our customers and the general public the chance to own a share in the company, but the timing has never been quite right, until now.
“The property market has changed dramatically over the past couple of years, but no one else seems to have developed a platform that works equally for everyone involved in the market. That’s where TheHouseShop steps in.”
Marr added: “Unlike the big agent-only portals, we work with both private individuals and professional estate agents. We wanted to make sure that our offering to agents was just as attractive and valuable as our offering to the general public.
“We believe that traditional estate agents still have a crucial role to play in the market and we want to help agents grow their businesses and reach an alternative audience by working with us.
“Unlike many of our competitors, we are all about inclusivity and we don’t exclude any section of the market. This means we’ve created a truly unique marketplace where consumers can see all their options in one place and have a safer, cheaper and fairer way to transact property.
“We want to give investors the chance to get involved at this crucial stage in our growth and join us on our mission to unite the property market under one roof.”
Sebastien Goldenberg, chief executive, said: “Our fundraising target is £500,000 and we’ve been overwhelmed by the level of support and interest that we’ve received so far.
“We've already reached 50% of our funding target during our pre-launch phase, which is an amazing achievement. We believe we’ve got a really valuable and unique proposition that allows investors to hold a stake in every aspect of the property market, instead of a just one part of it.”
“The predicted growth in the private rental market over the next five years presents a huge opportunity for us. Demand for private landlords is at an all-time high and we’ve seen the number of DIY landlords using our platform sky-rocket over the past two years.
“Without a doubt, the private rental market will be a key growth area for the industry over the next 5-10 years – and we are perfectly placed to take full advantage of this.”
