Coadjute secures funding from UK’s largest mortgage providers

The UK’s three largest mortgage providers and property website Rightmove have made a strategic investment in proptech Coadjute, which aims to shake up the property market with its data network.

As lead investment partner, Lloyds Banking Group has put in £3 million as part of a £10 million funding round, while Nationwide, NatWest and Rightmove have provided the remaining investment.

The latest round of funding brings the total invested in London-based property technology business Coadjute, since its inception in 2018, to £23 million.

Analysis by Rightmove has found that it takes an average of five and a half months from a seller accepting an offer until the transaction completes, which it attributed to “disconnected parties, manual processes and closed data”.

Coadjute has created a single network that brings together estate agents, conveyancers, mortgage lenders, buyers and sellers, ensuring all parties are verified and enabling secure data sharing in a standardised way.

It means that information, including deeds, digital identity and financial transactions, can all be exchanged quickly and securely, regardless of the system the party involved uses.

Coadjute will use the latest injection of funding from NatWest, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide and Rightmove to roll out the network nationally and expand its scope to include mortgage brokers and lenders.

Dan Salmons, chief executive officer of Coadjute, said: “We’re delighted that the Coadjute network is now being backed by the biggest players in the UK property market, enabling us to further expand our offering and roll out to more home movers and the professionals that serve them.

“Together with the estate agents, conveyancers and brokers joining the network, we hope to transform the experience of moving home in the UK, making it quicker, easier and safer for everyone in the future.”

Coadjute recently collaborated with the Bank of England, HM Land Registry, and the Bank of International Settlements on Project Meridian, to “streamline and digitise” the property settlement process.

“The homebuying process needs streamlining into a single, integrated journey for the benefit of consumers and industry participants alike,” said Henry Jordan, Nationwide’s director of home.

“We’re investing in Coadjute because we believe its technology has the potential to achieve this and be a game changer for the property industry.”

Rightmove’s chief executive officer Johan Svanstrom added: “We believe Coadjute’s secure and data-driven technology solution can meaningfully remove some of the friction and frustration that lengthy property transactions bring.

“For Rightmove this is also an investment into the potential of a more efficient industry, and to support our agent customers’ further business success.”

Lloyds Banking Group recently joined the Open Property Data Association, or OPDA, which aims to implement Open Data standards in the homebuying and selling process.