Startups which create platforms making it easier to buy “buy to let” properties are proliferating. In the US there is Roofstock, Mynd, Awning and Doorvest, among others. In Europe, there is, for example, GetGround or Bricklane. Beanstock.fr, a French buy-to-let investment marketplace that allows individuals to buy and manage properties online, has made hay as Spanish, English, and Germans flock to investing in French real estate because the yields are high.
Beanstock has now raised a €12M Series A round led by 360 Capital. Also participating was Entrée Capital, PropTech1 and FJ Labs, and existing investors Axeleo and Realty Corporation. They were joined by angel investors Giorgio Tinacci (CEO of Casavo), Alister Moreno and Pablo Fernandez (founders of Clikalia), Victor Lugger (CEO of sunday), Arkadi Jampolski and Jan Hase (founders of Wunderflats), Vincent Huguet (CEO of Malt) and Raphaël Di Meglio (CEO of Matera).
With the new round, Beanstock plans to consolidate its growth in France develop its platform and expand to other European countries.
Co-founder Emma Malha said in a statement that Beanstalk was integrating and streamlining all the steps of a buy-to-let project (property search, mortgage brokerage, refurbishment and property management). “This allows us to make the transaction much more efficient and cost-effective,” she said. As a mortgage broker, it can also offer financing solutions for clients.
Beanstock also claims to be able to identify properties that are more profitable than the market and to guarantee rental revenues for one year. “All properties listed on our marketplace are exclusive (or “off-market”) and vetted by experts. We have an asset-light expansion model, which allowed us to roll out our operations in 20 cities in France in less than a year. We’ll use this model to expand into new European markets,” said Malha.