Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

UPDATE 1-Equiem acquires British Land's property management arm as 'PropTech' deals boom

Published 27/04/2021, 01:39 am
Updated 27/04/2021, 01:42 am
© Reuters.

© Reuters.

(Adds byline, comment about deal)

By Herbert Lash

NEW YORK, April 26 (Reuters) - Equiem, an Australian firm that offers tenant services for office buildings, has acquired the property management platform of British Land Co Plc BLND.L , a deal that marks a shift in how landlords address their real estate needs.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed in a statement by the two companies released on Monday.

British Land, the largest UK real estate investment trust, acquired an equity stake of less than 10% in Equiem in exchange for the Vicinitee property management platform, a source familiar with the deal said.

The acquisition is the latest flurry involving property-focused start-ups known as "PropTech" firms, a sector that in the first quarter raised $4.5 billion of investment, or double the quarterly average in 2019, and had more than 40 M&A transactions, according to GCA Advisors in San Francisco.

Vicinitee will be key for Equiem to capture growing demand by landlords for technology that streamlines commercial real estate operations and enhances the tenant experience, said Gabrielle McMillan, the New York-based chief executive of Equiem.

"It's a digital interface for your building that becomes a remote control for all the things you need in a post-COVID world," McMillan said.

The deal increases Equiem's scale to 500 buildings in Europe, North America and Australia, expands its product line and deepens an existing partnership with British Land, which owns and manages prime London office assets, she said.

It follows Boston-based HqO, a tenant experience operating system, which two weeks ago raised $60 million to expand its operations. Real estate software and data firm View The Space Inc in March bought Rise Buildings, another tenant experience operator, for about $100 million, the Wall Street Journal said, citing sources.

A secular shift involving how technology is used to package, manage and distribute property assets, in this case office space, is occurring, Marcus Moufarrige, founder of software firm Ility, an operating system for commercial real estate, said of the Equiem deal.

"The problem is the (property) services now have to be offered through technology which they have not had the capability of doing," Moufarrige said of building owners.

Tenant experience apps initially provided tenants information about food and other services in a building. During the pandemic the apps have allowed landlords to communicate to their tenants about a building's hygiene, air quality and other safety issues.

Property management software coordinates and keeps track of myriad data about tenant accounts, leasing information, building entry and security, HVAC management and maintenance workflow.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.