Tech and property take it to the next level
“Proptech companies should be absolutely delighted to have real estate companies as investors and strategic partners and advisers. There is no one to whom proptech companies doing well matters more than real estate companies. For a proptech company to have the wisdom and the knowledge that an established real estate player can bring to bear will be the thing that will spur their development more than anything.”
WiredScore UK MD William Newton was speaking after Legal & General Capital became one of six real estate investors to back the digital connectivity certifier’s $9m (£7m) Series A funding round this week. L&G was one of three UK-based firms to invest in this round alongside U+I and Town Centre Securities.
Newton’s clear-headed assessment of how far and fast tech is penetrating real estate is shared by head of LGIM Real Assets Bill Hughes: “This has been coming for some time,” he said on this week’s TechTalk Radio. “Like with a lot of things, sometimes there is a tipping point where it becomes more visible and everyone’s willingness to listen and get involved and talk about it becomes more prevalent, and we have definitely reached that point.”
“Proptech companies should be absolutely delighted to have real estate companies as investors and strategic partners and advisers. There is no one to whom proptech companies doing well matters more than real estate companies. For a proptech company to have the wisdom and the knowledge that an established real estate player can bring to bear will be the thing that will spur their development more than anything.”
WiredScore UK MD William Newton was speaking after Legal & General Capital became one of six real estate investors to back the digital connectivity certifier’s $9m (£7m) Series A funding round this week. L&G was one of three UK-based firms to invest in this round alongside U+I and Town Centre Securities.
Newton’s clear-headed assessment of how far and fast tech is penetrating real estate is shared by head of LGIM Real Assets Bill Hughes: “This has been coming for some time,” he said on this week’s TechTalk Radio. “Like with a lot of things, sometimes there is a tipping point where it becomes more visible and everyone’s willingness to listen and get involved and talk about it becomes more prevalent, and we have definitely reached that point.”
It’s clear what the investors saw in WiredScore: 1,700 buildings are committed to certification and four million people currently work in Wired Certified buildings across North America and Europe.
But this deal represents more than an individual investment opportunity, it signals a maturing in the relationship between real estate and tech and, as importantly, a relationship shift from customer and supplier to partner.
The reputational storm that has engulfed Persimmon Homes has intensified after chief executive Jeff Fairburn walked out of a BBC interview when asked about his £75m bonus.
Some will blame Fairburn; some his PR adviser. To many these days the company is the unacceptable face of housebuilding. Newspaper headlines included wince-inducing phrases like “squirms”, “walks off” and “refuses to answer”. Thousands retweeted and liked the video, which had more than one million views.
Don’t for a second underestimate how damaging this will be for Fairburn, Persimmon and the sector – one that to a cynical public, untutored and uninterested in the difference between them, includes housebuilders, developers and just about everyone else involved in the built environment.
“It will be used in media training sessions for years to come,” one senior PR hand told me afterwards. I hope that’s not the only lesson.
EG is staging its first Future of London event on 5 and 6 November. There are so many reasons to come. You’ll get a chance to see inside British Land’s Printworks venue, ahead of Canada Water’s transformation. You can eat insects, take part in mindfulness and yoga sessions, and enjoy a smoothie bike challenge. There will be a gallery of London projects, while KERB food trucks will supply the best of London’s street food.
The topics discussed will get to the heart of London ‘s future too – who will deliver it, what its workplaces will look like, how the capital will do business, and the future of urban food and technology.
Sign up at www.egi.co.uk/future-of-london-2018 or tweet @estatesgazette your vision of the future of London for the chance to win a free ticket to the event. We’ll run the best on screen on the day.
To send feedback, e-mail damian.wild@egi.co.uk or tweet @DamianWild or @estatesgazette
