Property Innovation Labs (Pi Labs), a property tech venture capital firm, has secured a strategic equity investment to accelerate its global growth, led by Värde Partners.
The new capital injection will be used to scale the business as part of Pi Labs’ aim to create a globally diversified portfolio. London-based Pi Labs, which separately closed its second fund of USD10 million in June 2017, will continue to bolster its investment capabilities with larger funds going forward. The VC firm also continues to explore expanding internationally over the next 18 months.
This investment gives Värde, along with the other participants in the capital raise, a minority stake in the London-based VC firm. The Pi Labs management team comprised of Dominic Wilson, Faisal Butt and Mary Criebardis Singh will retain control of all day-to-day operational and investment decisions.
Tim Mooney, Partner and Global Head of Real Estate at Värde, says: “Technology has huge potential to impact the real estate market for the better by improving efficiency and unlocking the hidden underlying value across a range of real estate asset classes. The investment in Pi Labs gives us an important early view into new and emerging technologies. Dominic and the Pi Labs management team have impressed us with their deep knowledge of the property tech sector and strong operational experience, and we are excited to be supporting Pi Labs’ expansion going forward.”
Dominic Wilson, managing partner at Pi Labs, says: “This strategic round will help us accelerate our ability to fund and support high-growth property tech companies world-wide. Though London will remain our headquarters, we are seeing opportunities across a number of markets and we will look to build out our experienced team.
“We received several unsolicited expressions of interest from investors. We were determined to choose our investment partners carefully and for us it was crucial to work with investors who share our culture and vision for the future of the company and the industry more widely. Värde Partners brings a deep level of institutional expertise that comes from building an investment business from scratch to USD13 billion of equity globally. Allied with our other investors, mentors and institutional partners, Pi Labs is in a uniquely strong position as it continues to grow.”
