Rent2Cash, a startup offering up to three years’ rent to landlords, has closed on a €3 million pre-seed round.
The firm, which has launched in Italy, manages rent collection, provides assistance to clients and secures a formal liquidity proposal within 10 days of the client’s request.
Gianluca Fioranelli, Yilang Chen and Marco Grassi, the founders of Rent2Cash, said: “This funding round is a stamp of credibility for our business model and validates our vision and execution to date.
“The funds will fuel our product development efforts, accelerate the go-to-market timeline for our commercial real estate products in the coming weeks, and sustain our growth and hiring ambitions.
“The idea behind our project is to redefine the perceived value of a building by transforming a rental contract into immediate liquidity for the owners in a market that is estimated at over €30 billion a year in Italy alone and $2.5 trillion worldwide.”
The €3 million pre-seed round is financed by major Italian banking groups, as well as institutional investors and business angels. The company purchased its first rental credits via Banca Finint, which will be financed through the securitisation of those contracts.
The firm said the funds will be used towards the acquisition of the first rental contracts, as well as product and feature launches, in particular in the commercial property sector.
Money will also be spent on expanding VAULT, the proprietary algorithm on which Rent2Cash is based. VAULT promises to analyse over 50 variables to examine the state of the property, the rental agreement, the owner and the tenant’s scoring, offering clients dynamic and personalised pricing. The algorithm will soon include new asset classes, and expand into the commercial property sector.
Rent2Cash will also recruit 30 members of staff across product, sales and marketing in the coming months.
Paolo Gabriele, head of investment banking financial institution of Banca Finint, said: “We are thrilled to back Rent2Cash, and to become advisors, investors and servicer of the securitisation.
“The investment is in line with our commitment to support new solutions in the financial market, and offer our expertise to promising and innovative businesses.
“Rent2Cash platform represents a unicum in this segment, operating in an untapped sector with huge potential for growth.
“The securitisation market is an area in which Banca Finint has considerable expertise and a leading position in the Italian market.
“We believe that it’s a financial instrument of choice for investors looking to support disruptive players in the fintech space.”