Equiem, the global leader in tenant experience technology and services for commercial real estate, has announced the completion of its largest ever capital raise, securing more than £7 million from a number of different investors. The total is the biggest single funding round reported by any commercial tenant experience technology company to date and takes the amount invested in Equiem to over £17 million in total.
Existing shareholders the Grollo Group and Salta Capital both reinvested, alongside others including Aconex Founder and CEO, Leigh Jasper, whilst two new institutional investors Perennial Value, an Australian-owned investment management firm, and Regal Funds Management, an Australian alternative investment manager, both invested for the first time. Several high net worth investors from the USA also committed, representing the first US-based capital invested in the firm.
The completion of the funding round coincides with the launch of the latest iteration of Equiem’s market-leading tenant experience platform, dubbed Equiem NEXT, the development of which was facilitated by Equiem’s previous capital raise in 2016. NEXT is the culmination of a two-year rebuild of the firm’s previous technology stack, which overhauled legacy systems to create a new open platform and architecture that facilitates Equiem’s future product roadmap.
Adding to the unrivalled depth and sophistication of Equiem’s previous platform, NEXT delivers a range of updated features and services that enable landlords to deliver everything their tenants need in one seamless platform, including:
- Updated iOS and Android Apps – enhanced design and user experience, enabling full use of native phone functionality, as well as the option for landlords to white label to specific site or portfolio branding
- Next Generation E-Commerce – an updated full-feature e-commerce experience, with integrated vendor management, enabling landlords to deliver a wide range of frictionless services and amenities to tenants by supercharging retail vendors, as well as unlock greater revenue by driving higher ROI across assets
- Tenant Analytics Dashboards – new, comprehensive, easy-to-use tenant analytics providing landlords with rich, actionable intelligence to help them better understand the needs of their tenants and deliver more effective tenant engagement
- Events and Engagement – a complete suite of features enabling landlords to plan, promote and execute events and engagement initiatives across their portfolios, and track their results; includes check-in management and RSVP/attendance tracking, built for concierge and security teams
- Space Bookings – An on-demand, flexible space booking platform for monetising building amenities, boardrooms and vacant desks – unlocking greater revenue for owners
Building on the launch of NEXT, the completion of Equiem’s latest funding round will allow the firm to continue to invest heavily in its technology. New capital will now be used to deliver on Equiem’s future product roadmap, which is centred around predictive data, personalised experiences, cardless building access, and a sophisticated integrations and partnerships network.
Alongside further product development, the latest funding will also be used to support Equiem’s ongoing expansion across both new and existing markets, including the UK and Ireland. Since launching in the UK and Ireland in 2017, Equiem has already rolled out its technology across 95 buildings comprising more than 10.5 million sq ft in both countries, with over 15,000 users registered. In total, the company’s technology is now used by more than 145,000 people across 60 million sq ft of prime commercial space worldwide, and by more tenants around the world than any other provider. The firm has identified Canada and Singapore as its next markets for further expansion.
Equiem’s CEO, Gabrielle McMillan, has said that the company will continue to assess capital requirements in line with growth, but expects to announce a larger US-backed funding round later this year. McMillan comments:
“As the real estate industry matures in terms of its adoption of technology, we want to keep raising the bar in the tenant experience technology space. Over the last eight years, we have consistently invested in our product to ensure we offer the industry’s most advanced tenant experience platform, culminating in the recent launch of Equiem NEXT. The completion of this latest funding round now allows us to further develop our product line and deliver on a really exciting future roadmap, ensuring that we provide the next generation in tenant experience technology and remain the go-to provider in the global real estate market.”
Andrew Smith, Perennial’s Head of Smaller Companies and Microcaps, said:
“As the global market-leader for tenant experience technology and services, Equiem’s unrivalled technology and product line, combined with the significant potential for substantial further global growth, made investing an extremely attractive proposition for us. We are excited by both the demand Equiem is seeing for its technology across the world, as well as the company’s future product roadmap and strategy, and believe this is the perfect time for us to commit.”
