Spanish Property Tech Startup Vivla Raises $29.7M

As more people want a second home, Madrid-based Vivla has raised 27 million euros ($29.7 million), becoming the highest-funded home ownership startup in Europe, EU-Startups reported Wednesday (March 23).

The fresh funding was led by Samaipata, the European fund, with participation from New York-based FJ Labs, United Kingdom FinTech hedge fund Fasanara, Accel and Extension Fund.

In addition, there were a handful of angels including César Azpilicueta, the right- and center-back for the Premier League soccer club Chelsea, several Airbnb employees such as Kintxo Cortés, key players in the FinTech sector including Nathalie Picquot, and CEOs from Spotahome, Ironhack, ThePowerMBA, Constella, Ticketea, Tiko, Ukio and Smartick.

In southern Europe, 18 million homes are occupied only 15% of the time, while millions of Europeans are seeking homes for long term stays. Fractional homeownership could be the perfect solution for them. The trend has seen with massive growth, appealing to a new generation of homeowners.

“Fractional home ownership is a new category of real estate that is set to transform the second home sector,” said Carlos Emilio Gomez, CEO and co-founder of Vivla in a statement.

Last summer, PYMNTS reported Blackstone Group Inc. announced that it agreed to buy Home Partners of America, a company that buys distressed single-family homes, restores them and then rents them out again to tenants. The $6 billion deal is expected to close later this year.

Read more: Blackstone Buys Home Partners of America For $6B To Reenter The Real Estate Market

Blackstone inherited the startup’s unique twist on the home purchase and conversion-to-rental model. That’s in contrast to other players, who hold on to the properties as landlords indefinitely. Home Partners offers its tenants an opportunity to buy their rental home after a certain period at a predetermined price.