Category: PRESS

Rent Guarantee Insurance: What is it and how does it work?

Posted on by Arne Allewaert

Keep your cash – rent without a deposit

KEY POINTS

🔐  Rent guarantee insurance protects landslords against loss of income if a tenant falls behind or defaults on rent payments.
đŸ€  Rental insurance is a new alternative to classic rental deposits which help avoid a lock-up of a tenant’s working capital.
đŸ™‹â€â™€ïž  Insurers will look to the financial stability and creditworthiness of the tenant(s) before underwriting the policy.

Enormous amounts are tied up to secure the rental income streams

Historically, deposit and bank guarantee have been the two dominant alternatives for landlords to ensure potential losses due to a tenant’s default or damages the rented premises. Here are a few startling data points:

  • In 2019, an insurance service provider stated that $45 billion was tied up in upfront security, solely in the residential segment in the US.
  • For the European residential segment, deposit volumes were estimated to reach +€70 billion in 2023.
  • Over €1 billion is estimated to be tied up in commercial real estate in the Nordics, according to market research conducted by Ebie.

Needless to say, these significant amounts of capital could be put to better use in today’s challenging times.

The deposit is a type of plegde paid when signing a rental contract and is usually required when renting a home and any type of commercial space. If a tenants breaches its obligations under the lease, the landlord can use all or part of the deposit to cover its costs. This protects the landlord in case a tenant becomes insolvent and cannot pay the rent. The size of the deposit can vary greatly from lease to lease and from landlord to landlord. Usually the deposit is equivalent to three to six months’ rent, but is it not uncommon (especially not in commercial real estate) for the amount to be as high as nine or twelve months.

A bank guarantee means that the tenants’ bank guarantees the rental commitment. The bank guarantee usually has a counter guarantee amount, i.e. the amount the tenant has to provide as security to the bank in order for them to issue the guarantee. The counterpart amount usually corresponds to the bank guarantee amount, meaning that the tenant is locking up the same amount of money as with a deposit, but also pays interest for the service. The 2017 Basel 3 framework increased capital requirements for bank guarantees, meaning that very few tenants can get a bank guarantee without depositing almost the entire amount with the bank in the form of escrow. Applying and receiving a bank guarantee is a demanding process and a processing time of 6-8 weeks is not uncommon.

While some landlords may rely solely on robust tenant screening processes, unforeseen circumstances can disrupt rental income streams. Deposit or bank guarantee as rental security provides great value for the landlord, but locking up working capital is not an ideal scenario neither for individuals or businesses. Enter, the rent guarantee insurance.

What is rent guarantee insurance?

đŸŠș Rent guarantee insurance serves as a safeguard for landlords against financial losses incurred due to tenants failing to meet their rental obligations. In such cases, the insurance covers the monthly rent for a predetermined period, compensating landlords for the lost income.

This type of risk management tool started off for residential lease agreements in the UK and is becoming more and more popular throughout the world, as it serves as a smarter substitute to the traditional alternatives deposits and bank guarantees.

How does it work?

  1. The rent guarantee insurance: A convenient way to guarantee the security of the landlord without having to lock up valuable capital in a deposit. The guarantee gives the landlord the same protection as a deposit or bank guarantee, but lets the tenant keep the money. Instead, tenants (or landlord) pay an insurance premium based on the tenant’s individual risk profile.
  2. Apply: Most providers of this service offer online application, where the the basic information about the rental relationship is required. An application can be made wherever the tenant is in the process; just thinking about moving or is already in the new space and wants to replace its deposit.
  3. Wait for processing: The provider calculates the risk profile, collects approval from the landlord and prepare the contract.
  4. Signing the insurance: If the risk profile is approved by the insurer and the landlord accepts, a quote will be sent for approval.
  5. All done: Now, the tenant can choose how to invest the capital otherwise locked in a deposit.

⏩ Depending on the service provider’s level of automation, this process usually takes 1-5 business days.

Rent Deposit Guarantee for your Accommodation in Germany | Fintiba

No wonder why this solution is gaining traction

  • The two traditional alternatives deposit and bank guarantee are win-loose alternatives: the landlord is protected, but to the cost of the tenant’s liquidity
  • Higher interest rates and inflation is making cash more valuable than ever
  • The Central Business Districts of many major property markets are faced with record high vacancy rates, making services like the rent insurance a selling point when commercial real estate owners negotiate to maintain or attract new tenants

Some of the rent insurance providers have invested a lot of money to create fully digital, seamless handling processes to help asset owners or operators get full control of its risk management – not only as a single-use solution but part of their overall asset management.

Limitations and considerations

Insurers conduct thorough evaluations before issuing the insurance and tenants with a history of payment defaults may face rejection. Additionally, residential tenants are ofter required to have a stable employment and sufficient income, as a commercial tenant need to have a stable financial track-record to meet rent obligations.

As part of our mission, we will always look to support solutions that radically improve the way we live, work and relax. That’s why we at AMAVI invested in the Swedish company Ebie: protecting commercial real estate companies through insurance, for a fraction of the cost for the tenants. Ebie’s vision is to remove deposits from the market through a digitalized handling process and with valuable features for landlords to manage risk portfolios.
Feel free to reach out to us if you want more information on the topic or discover more about AMAVI here.

Rent guarantee insurance in commercial real estate

Ebie launched its first solution in 2022 and has already freed +€10M from deposits in the Nordics.

The market tailwinds for commercial real estate is very similar to the private market: the interest hike creates a higher need for cash and as the real estate market is forced to become more modern, landlords need to adapt to tenant wishes. Also, banks and credit institutes values secured cash-flows, motivating asset owners to get in control of its risk management.

đŸ§© Two innovative rent guarantee solutions for CRE

One-off (direct-to-tenant) and Group insurance (direct-to-landlord)


đŸ€ The one-off insurance is an insurance between a tenant and a landlord and works precisely as described above:

1. A tenant is looking to lease an office, a warehouse or retail space and want to avoid locking up working capital
2. The landlord wants protection and are happy with the rent insurance policy
3. The tenant has a solid track record and the insurer sets the premium at 3%

✅ Instead of locking up 9-12 months of rent in a deposit, the tenant will pay 3% of that amount as an annual insurance premium

🏱 The Group Insurance
For landlords seeing great potential to further develop its risk management and increase its NOI, Ebie has developed a Group Insurance solution:
1. By pooling a portfolio of different risks, landlord’s get a fixed premium in a framework and can add new leases whenever they occur or are up for renewal
2. With a fixed premium and a way for tenant’s to avoid paying a deposit, the landlord can charge a fee for the service – creating an arbitrage opportunity and extra revenue stream potential
3. All Group contracts are easily added and managed through Ebie’s used-friendly platform, where additional portfolio risk analysis can be conducted

✅ The landlords get full control of its risk management and enables additional revenues

Benelux Office (HQ) 🇧đŸ‡Ș
Sluis 2D2 box 3
B-9810 Eke (Belgium)

🇾đŸ‡Ș Nordics office
Storgatan 23C
114 55 Stockholm (Sweden)

Are you building a PropTech scale-up in Europe with proven product-market fit?

Myrspoven announces EUR 5.4 million investment from 4impact Capital, Vantaa Energy, and AMAVI Capital

Posted on by Arne Allewaert

Anders Kallebo, co-founder & CEO.

Swedish company Myrspoven, a leading AI software company operating within building optimization, running +3,500,000 square meters across 8 countries and saves on average 20% of a building’s energy, announced today the successful completion of a EUR 5.4 million equity funding round. The investment was led by prominent investors 4impact capital, Vantaa Energy, and existing investor AMAVI Capital.

This capital infusion strategically propels Myrspoven to expand its solutions across Europe and beyond, in line with their channel partner strategy. The company’s dedication to sustainability and transforming buildings into dynamic players in the modern energy system aligns perfectly with the vision of the investors, fostering a partnership aimed at driving innovation and creating lasting value in real estate. With a track record of delivering energy and cost savings, an impressive tech stack, and a future-proof platform, Myrspoven has gained investor confidence for its potential to lead and disrupt the real estate sector.

“We are eager to welcome 4impact capital and Vantaa Energy as new partners in this exciting phase of growth for Myrspoven,” said Anders Kallebo, co-founder and CEO. “This funding will be instrumental in advancing our mission to contribute to the real estate industry’s reduction of carbon emissions by 1% and ensuring that we continue to deliver exceptional services to our valued customers.”

Ali Najafbagy, General Partner and co-founder at 4impact capital: “Myrspoven is the leader in its field of carbon emission reduction through a digital only solution. We are thrilled to team up and accelerate the positive change internationally.”

“We have worked closely with Myrspoven since its early days and are happy to welcome 4impact capital and Vantaa to this exciting phase, where the indisputable goal is to accelerate from being a local Nordic hero to an international leader within building optimization,” said Richard Lindqvist, Partner Nordics at AMAVI Capital. “Myrspoven, with its best in class AI solutions, has the potential to redefine the real estate industry.”

The funding round was a collaborative effort, with Matti Wallin, Business Director of Vantaa Energy’s Energy Services, commenting, “At the core of Vantaa Energy’s operations is to ensure that energy and finite resources are circulating as smartly as possible. Energy efficiency and curbing the customer’s energy costs are our main goals and we see that there is an increasing demand for such services. Joining Myrspoven is a natural choice for us and a good fit for our strategy.”

About Myrspoven

Myrspoven is a pioneering force in the realm of energy optimization, dedicated to revolutionizing the way buildings harness and consume energy. With a deep commitment to sustainability, Myrspoven leverages cutting-edge AI technology and innovative solutions to create more efficient buildings and sustainable, stable energy systems.

For more information, please visit www.myrspoven.com

Unpacking the Self-Storage Surge

Posted on by Arne Allewaert

Declutter your home, make room for what matters

KEY POINTS

📩  The adoption of self-storage accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing housing prices, decreasing living space and other trends in recent years
📩  The traditional self-storage model has shortcomings and is being challenged by a number of new business models
📩  To meet the high customer demands, self storage business models should be more focused on efficiency and customer centricity.

1. Self storage is booming due to pandemic boost and secular tailwinds

  • Mainly COVID-19 but also a combination of other factors have created an increasing need for storage space which has led to a higher demand for self-storage.
  • Self-storage is a service that lets people and businesses rent storage space for their things. It’s often provided in large facilities, subdivided into units that customers can rent and access anytime. Self storage facilities usually offer different unit sizes and are in the close vicinity of homes or businesses. The length of the rental agreement can vary depending on the customer’s needs. It’s a convenient and flexible, but rather expensive way to store belongings.
  • Several factors have supported demand for self storage from residential customers in recent years. These include demographic and macroeconomic trends, such as population growth, urbanisation, higher levels of mobility, micro-living, increasing personal wealth, increased number of divorces, as well as increased consumer awareness. These trends have been particularly strong in urban areas, where high density levels, elevated housing costs and the scarcity of housing and storage space are expected to support longer-term pricing rates and occupancy levels. Demand from business customers has generally been supported by the growth of new online retailers and small businesses, which require flexible and cost- effective storage options. We expect these trends to continue to support the demand for self storage in the coming years. Source

Let’s dive into the main drivers of the increased demand for self storage next.

1.1 COVID redefined spare rooms to work-from-home offices

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many people to set up temporary home offices in previously unused spaces, such as spare rooms and basements. This has allowed them to continue working remotely during lockdowns and stay-at-home orders. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of having a dedicated workspace and the adaptability of the workforce.

Unemployment levels across the world have been rising during the COVID-19 crisis. As a result, residential landlords face impact from jobless tenants who are unable to pay rent. As these tenants move back home with their families or explore other house-sharing options, downsizing residential space creates opportunities for the self-storage sector to store items that will no longer fit into smaller homes. Source

A simple query in Google Trends confirms that the request for storage was at its peak during COVID.

Note that the demand for storage really took off as from 2016.

1.2 Increasing rate of urbanisation brings more people to the city

  • According to the UN, 68% of the world population projected to live in urban areas by 2050.
  • Moreover, Europe’s level of urbanisation is expected to increase to approximately 83.7% in 2050. → more key takeaways here.

1.3 A ‘renovation wave’ is coming up

  • The European Commission has published the Renovation Wave Strategy as part of its efforts to achieve the objectives of the EU Green Deal. This strategy aims to improve the energy performance of buildings in the EU, with the aim of at least doubling renovation rates over the next ten years.
  • About 50% of the residential housing market in Europe has an EPC D or worse, whereas within 10 years from now, every home will need to have at least an EPC C. This is the equivalent of about 100M homes that need to be renovated in the next decade.
  • Renovations leads to a need for storing stuff temporarily.

1.4 Garage boxes gone, fewer cellar space

It has become common for newly built apartments not to include a garage box or a cellar as part of the sale. This is because construction prices have risen, leading to higher costs for developers. Focusing on profitability, many developers have decided to exclude these features from their projects, especially in dense urban areas. Additionally, increasing interest rates have decreased the purchasing power for buying a house or apartment. As a result, many new apartment buildings – particularly in urban areas – don’t have dedicated parking or storage space. This lack of space means that many apartment dwellers will need to find self-storage solutions to keep and access their belongings.

1.5 Change in consumer behaviour, new hobbies and digital nomads

Finally, there are some additional reasons why people need more storage space

  • Increase in belongings: With the rise of consumer culture, people are constantly buying new items such as clothes, electronics, and home decor. These items can quickly add up, leaving people with cluttered homes and insufficient space to store everything.
  • Another reason is the rise of new hobbies: as people’s interests and passions evolve, they may take up activities that require specialised or seasonal equipment (skiing, (kite)surfing, biking, etc).
  • Increasing divorce rates and the number of newly-composed families, also clearly lead to a need to store more stuff.
  • Lastly, the growth of the digital nomad lifestyle is also contributing to the need for more storage space: digital nomads are people who work remotely and often travel frequently, which means they may not have a fixed home base. As a result, they may need to store their belongings in a self-storage facility or other type of storage space while they are on the road.

2. Rising interest rates pressure housing prices, new business models arise

  • Rising interest rates are putting pressure on the affordability of building or buying a house. This means that the floor space one can afford is decreasing significantly.
  • According to an article from the World Economic Forum, almost half of the EU population lives in apartments.
  • Average yearly rent per square meter in Europe is now €290, up 7.9% from last year. Source. This inherently leads to that the fact that, on average, living spaces decrease.
  • In some European countries, we observe that residential floor space decreases over time – an evolution that is only expected to accelerate with current economic environment. Next to the increasing interest rates that puts pressure on buying a house, a smaller home might be more desirable for some households given that it means a decrease in monthly costs. Below, some examples of countries where this trend is taking place:

According to FEDESSA and CBRE’s latest annual report on self-storage, there has been a 5.1% growth in the number of storage facilities in Europe and a 4.8% growth in storage space in last 12 months. All of the above explains why the self-storage sector has boomed.

3. Self storage models compared

3.1 Traditional self storage

The traditional self storage business model has its draw backs resulting in a poor customer journey:

  • Time consuming back-and-forth traveling to store or pick-up items
  • Storage space is not made to suit your stuff resulting in paying more than what is actually used
  • Expensive: you pay for m3, but can only store m2, as you cannot pile very high (so inefficient)
  • Often need to rent a truck or trailer to move heavy or larger belongings
  • Often not digital and general lack of customer experience
  • No overview about what is actually stored at which location

💡 What could be stored?
Basically anything can be stored that finds itself at home, but some things are more desirable to get out of your way soon. Here are some examples of things that you should consider to store in a digital cellar:
1. Bulky Objects
2. Seasonal Equipment
3. Automotive tires and equipment
4. Papers and archives
5. Professional goods and equipment (such as marketing materials, showroom/seasonal furniture,…)

3.2 New business models disrupting the sector

The most disruptive factor is the fact that technology is involved to a high degree. Technology enables this sector to ‘Uberize’ the related services, use platforms to create more efficiency and make it less expensive to store externally.

Below are several new technologies related to the self-storage ecosystem. Some of these are complimentary and can be integrated in one other:

  • Peer-to-peer (P2P) storage is a business model in which individuals rent out their unused storage space to others. This can include a spare room, garage, or storage unit, and is facilitated by online platforms or apps. An example to this type of storage is offered by BoxBox.
  • Storage-as-a-service companies make it possible to store belongings without moving back and forth to the storage facility. They usually pick-up the user’s items at their home and deliver the desired items on-demand. Storage capacity is optimized, so you only pay for the actual m3 used. Through a periodic subscription fee, consumers only pay for what they store. Like P2P storage models, these companies usually provide a digital customer journey and handle the logistics as well. Examples are YouStock, Stored and Vinden.
  • Franchised storage solutions make it possible for individuals or businesses to transform unused space into storage facilities. Several financing or leasing plans are provided for the customer in order for them to install fully equipped storage units. Example is Flexistore.
  • Inner-city storage units are storage spaces that are 24/7 available, surveilled and autonomously accessible. These micro-hubs are an ideal solution for last-mile storage solutions. Examples are Storebox and Cobalt.
  • Drive-up storage models are technology driven storage solutions where storage hubs (often containers) are placed locally. The user has temporary access to (a part of) that unit where items can be stored. Once the hub is filled, the belongings will be picked up and stored remotely. This addresses the challenge of door-to-door solutions, such as storage-as-a-service, which can involve a lot of travel for small loads. Example is Lovespace.

In order to scale new self-storage solutions, having the right technology is crucial. Building a warehouse with numerous storage units that require a lot of manual labor is no longer sufficient.

As part of our mission, we will always look to support solutions that radically improve the way we live, work and relax. That’s why we at AMAVI invested in the French company YouStock and the Swedish company Vinden: enabling users to free-up space in their homes and companies by using an easy application with a visual library of the items stored in your “digital cellar”. Feel free to reach out to us if you want more information on the topic or discover more about AMAVI here.

YouStock‘s “valet” storage platform, offers a full-service digital model starting from the inventory, packing, and collection to the storage facility and return of the items. They connect users, moving companies, and storage facilities. They are active in France and Belgium, and optimize inner-city logistics by partnering with a network of moving companies and warehousing facilities.

Learn about YouStock

Vinden is a digital platform offering new way of storing objects. They provide on-demand storage, by picking up, storing and returning objects of all sizes. They are currently active in Sweden and Norway. Vinden combines professional warehouse keeping with last mile delivery. Everything is operated with an in-house developed, customer centric, and user-friendly platform and app.

Learn about Vinden

Benelux Office (HQ) 🇧đŸ‡Ș
Sluis 2D2 box 3
B-9810 Eke (Belgium)

🇾đŸ‡Ș Nordics office
Storgatan 23C
114 55 Stockholm (Sweden)

Are you building a PropTech scale-up in Europe with proven product-market fit?

AMAVI Capital Expands into the Nordics, Acquiring SF Ventures’ PropTech Portfolio and Establishing a Nordic Branch

Posted on by Arne Allewaert

Belgium-based fund manager AMAVI Capital, a leading pan-European PropTech investor, is delighted to announce its expansion into the Nordic region. As part of this strategic move, AMAVI Capital’s current fund, AMAVI Proptech Fund, will acquire the full portfolio of 11 companies from SF Ventures AB, a Swedish PropTech investment fund with a Nordic investment scope. This acquisition brings the total number of companies in AMAVI’s portfolio to 22, solidifying its position as a key player in the European PropTech ecosystem.

In addition to acquiring SF Ventures’ PropTech portfolio, AMAVI Capital will also partner up with the Stockholm-based team, Andreas Nordgren and Richard Lindqvist. This talented team will join AMAVI Capital to establish a dedicated Nordic branch for the group, bolstering the company’s local presence and network. This expansion signifies a significant milestone for AMAVI Capital, allowing it to broaden its geographical footprint and enhance its ability to identify and support innovative PropTech startups across Europe. This collaboration between two leading PropTech investors marks a significant step towards fostering innovation and driving sustainable growth in the European real estate technology sector.

AMAVI Capital, with its pan-European mandate, is a hands-on investor, actively supporting companies at the intersection of technology and real estate. With a deep understanding of the European property market, AMAVI Capital has successfully identified and nurtured promising PropTech ventures, driving positive change and revolutionizing the way we build, transact, use, and interact with buildings.

Andreas Nordgren and Richard Lindqvist, on the other hand, have established themselves as prominent players in the PropTech investment landscape, focusing on the Nordic region. Their portfolio includes a.o. energy optimization company Myrspoven, property management tool Pigello and AI-driven floorplan generator Laiout. With a track record of investing in early-stage PropTech companies, the team brings extensive knowledge and experience to the partnership. Their strong network within the Nordic ecosystem will be instrumental in uncovering emerging PropTech startups with high-growth potential.

Together, AMAVI Capital is committed to providing PropTech startups with the necessary capital, mentorship, and industry expertise to accelerate their growth and achieve meaningful impact. By joining forces, the two firms will enhance their ability to identify disruptive innovations, support the next generation of PropTech pioneers, and contribute to the transformation of the European real estate and construction industry.

Arne Allewaert and FrĂ©dĂ©ric Van den Weghe, Managing Partners at AMAVI Capital, commented on the expansion into the Nordics, saying: “We are thrilled to embark on this new chapter for AMAVI Capital as we expand our reach into the Nordics. The acquisition of SF Ventures’ PropTech portfolio and the establishment of our Nordic branch are significant milestones that align perfectly with our pan-European investment strategy. This strategic move enhances our capabilities to identify and support cutting-edge PropTech startups, leveraging the region’s technological advancements and sustainability drive. We are confident that AMAVI Nordics will bring added value to our investors, portfolio companies, and the broader PropTech ecosystem. Together, we look forward to driving innovation and fostering positive change in the European real estate industry.”

“We are excited to collaborate with AMAVI Capital,” commented Andreas Nordgren and Richard Lindqvist. “This partnership represents a strategic alignment of our investment philosophies and will allow us to leverage our respective strengths to unearth transformative PropTech opportunities in the Nordics and beyond. By supporting innovative startups, we aim to redefine the real estate landscape and contribute to the sustainable development of our cities.”

nami Announces $10.5M Series A to Innovate Digital Sensing Infrastructure

Posted on by Arne Allewaert

Today, nami, a leading multi-sensing platform and ecosystem enabler for the Internet of Things (IoT) industry, announced the close of its Series A financing round, raising $10.5 million from strategic investors including Verizon Ventures, AMAVI Capital, INSPiRE and Aconterra.

nami enables enterprise customers to rapidly deploy intelligent presence, motion, and situation-aware IoT services. The company’s full-stack platform ingests raw sensor data, augments it into actionable metadata, and uses it to trigger automation across entire IoT environment, delivering unprecedented use cases. Over the past two years, nami has developed a powerful platform for software-based sensing applications, featuring cutting-edge sensing topologies and associated intellectual property. With this new funding, nami is poised to expand its team and geographical presence to rapidly deploy its advanced digital sensing infrastructure across residential and commercial buildings on three continents.

“This funding round empowers nami to achieve our mission of building an ecosystem of AI sensors that cater to IoT players, internet service providers, insurance companies, and others across multiple verticals,” said Jean-Eudes Leroy, co-founder and CEO of nami. “Our innovative nami app brings peace of mind to families with security, safety, and wellness use cases while ensuring the utmost privacy. Additionally, our partners’ applications and dashboards utilize data from our API to enhance automation, complement their security solution and improve health outcomes in different types of environments.”

“At Verizon Ventures, we invest in companies whose innovative solutions leverage 5G and other advanced network technologies to deliver impactful new capabilities for both consumers and business customers,” said Michelle McCarthy, Managing Director at Verizon Ventures. “nami’s talented and seasoned team has laid out an impressive new vision for connected homes, transforming them into intelligent living spaces. We look forward to supporting them as they develop digital sensing infrastructure for residential and commercial buildings in Asia, Europe and North America.”

“We are thrilled to be part of the nami project, which aims to digitize walls and ceilings through non-intrusive sensing technology,” said FrĂ©dĂ©ric Van Weghe, Managing Partner at AMAVI Capital. “In the wake of the global agenda for carbon neutrality in residential and commercial buildings, the ability to deploy non-line-of-sight sensing technology across wide surfaces, detecting occupancy, is a major leap forward for the PropTech industry.”

“What a great journey to build investment foundations for nami and proactively contribute to grow its business in Japan” said Ryosuke Takatsuki, Representative Director of INSPiRE Mutualistic Symbiosis Fund. “We are very excited by our cooperation with nami in Health & Wellness space for Mimamori project in Japan. Together, we pave the way for properly aging in place thanks to the right mix of AI and IoT technologies, made easy to deploy. Just Japan itself is a target market of 26 Millions elderly households for AgeTech.”

“IoT services on motion and presence are vital to reduce the carbon footprint and to increase the safety of people in residential and commercial buildings. nami’s multi-sensing platform realizes this in a highly scalable way by using existing widely adopted technology that doesn’t require line of sight. Situation awareness of people can be a global gamechanger for many use cases including energy management, alarm detection, and elderly monitoring.”, says Ron Schuermans, founding Partner of Aconterra. “We’re thrilled to welcome nami in Aconterra’s smart building tech ecosystem and to support such an amazing team.”

About nami

nami, headquartered in Singapore, delivers AI-powered digital sensing solutions to players in the Security, Safety, HealthTech, PropTech, and Energy Optimization fields through hardware-augmented software. Two of the nami co-founders, Jean-Eudes and JĂ©rĂŽme Leroy, serve as active members of the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), part of the steering committee of the new CSA Health & Wellness workgroup, and chair Matter’s RF Ambient Sensing Workgroup.

For more information, please visit www.nami.ai 

AMAVI Co-Leads €6.7M Round in Heimkapital

Posted on by Arne Allewaert

1 min read

We are thrilled to announce our 9th investment: Heimkapital đŸ‡©đŸ‡Ș ! Heimkapital is a German tech-based Real Estate platform targeted at asset-rich but cash-poor seniors. Heimkapital enables flexible co-ownership models which let seniors tap into their home equity and use the proceeds to solve their current or future financial needs. Homeowners can sell up to 50% of their property to Heimkapital for an immediate pay-out while retaining the privilege to live in their home.

Home equity releases are particularly attractive for expensive energy renovations, which eventually benefit:

  • the homeowner, who can lower her/his energy bills;
  • Heimkapital, who reaches higher exit values;
  • our society, that needs to work towards net-zero energy of the current building stock by 2050.

Heimkapital’s tech solution can be white-labelled, which is particularly interesting for credit institutions that want to offer more services, especially to long-term clients (seniors).

Exciting partners and geographies

AMAVI co-leads the Series A investment round together with Volksbank and IVC. The existing investors Yabeo, the Unger Family Office and several business angels support the round. On 14 January this year, Heimkapital was provided a loan of €320M to acquire assets.

Read more on the round and what Heimkapital is up to!

Home equity releases are a great solution for homeowners to finance expensive energy renovations

Frédéric Van den Weghe

With the investment in Heimkapital, AMAVI now enters Germany, the largest real estate market in Europe

Arne Allewaert

Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink

Posted on by Arne Allewaert

4 min read

KEY POINTS
  • The water crisis affects billions of people around the globe. It involves flooding, droughts, scarcity, pollution and turbid water.
  • Only 2.5% of the global water supply is useful. Only 1.2% of that is available. Households are responsible for 10% of the total water consumption in Europe.
  • The real estate and construction industry plays a big role in mitigating the crisis by reusing water locally, monitoring overconsumption and densifying cities.

Why floods and droughts are the next global crisis

Extreme weather conditions are leading to water excess in some parts of the world, and severe water shortages elsewhere. And it’s only going to get worse. We’ve written this article to highlight the importance of tackling water scarcity, what PropTech can do about it, and AMAVI’s role in targeting this crucial issue.

Are we sleepwalking into a water crisis?

Scientists, environmentalists, and public agencies have long been aware of the issues. But recent news stories have alerted the public to a 21st century water crisis involving flooding, scarcity, pollution, and turbid water from sedimentation and soil erosion:

  • The Colorado River and its tributaries have been shrinking, affecting around 40 million people who rely on its water for drinking, agriculture, and electricity.
  • 30 million people were affected by the deadly 2022 floods in Pakistan.
  • Last year’s floods in Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg cost 240 lives and €38bn in damage.
  • The ‘drying up’ of China’s Yangtze River has drastically reduced hydroelectric generation, leading to factory closures.

Walking on thin ice

Increasing population inevitably means growing demand for water. Yet here on the ‘blue planet’ fresh water is only 2.5% of the total, and most of that is locked up in glaciers and ice caps. A further 30% of that 2.5% is ground water, and only 1.2% is surface water – a tiny fraction of the H2O on the planet. We can all see rivers and reservoirs, but ground water is less visible and tends to get managed poorly.

burdgis GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY
Water levels at Lake Mead have fallen dramatically amid a record drought | NASA Earth Observatory

And even where water is plentiful, not all fresh water makes it to household taps and pipes. The public water ‘supply chain’ in Europe loses from 5% to over 50% of water abstracted.

Who’s most at risk?

Nearly 25% of the global population could face severe water shortages in the near future. In hot regions where the water supply starts off low, rising demand can quickly cause severe shortages. Qatar is heavily dependent on seawater desalination for its drinking water. In Chennai (India), the drying up of lakes recently led to violent protests.

Who are the baddies here?

At first sight, construction and real estate aren’t the worst offenders when it comes to water use. The biggest commercial users in Europe are oil and gas, agriculture, and textiles, with households responsible for 10% of total consumption.

But the water used in the construction process alone is still 3.4% of total European water consumption, and the ‘embodied water’ used for materials is significant (see right).

Refurbishment of older buildings uses less water than new construction, which can also reduce the open space where water can naturally infiltrate the soil and replenish groundwater reserves.

What about households?

Households account for 10% of the total water consumption in Europe. Only about 5% of that is for drinking and cooking, with the rest used for personal hygiene (33%), washing clothes and dishes (33%), and flushing toilets (25-30%).

The way houses are built and fitted out has a cumulative effect on water use throughout the lifecycle of the building. Energy and water savings from more efficient showers and appliances add up over the years.

Water waste has had a low profile compared to reducing carbon emissions, but it is moving quickly up the political and environmental agenda, and the public is increasingly aware of the benefits of grey water recycling systems and rainwater collection.

EMBODIED WATER IN CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

Aluminium: 88,000 litres per ton

Cement: 3,500 to 5,000 litres per ton

Steel: 39,000 litres per ton

Copper: 590,000 litres per ton

Plastic: 187,000 litres per ton

Source: The Royal Australian Institute of Architects.

Teaming up with the best

AMAVI is already investing in best-in-class solutions to tackle the crisis.

Shayp is a tech-enabled SaaS company that’s transforming how the building sector addresses leakages and unnecessary water usage, with *real-time water flow analytics and non-invasive sensors.

Leakages can have a serious effect on an organisation’s water bill since the vast majority go unnoticed or unreported. Using machine learning techniques and unobtrusive sensors, it identifies leakages and system anomalies in real-time, and the webapp alerts staff and helps prioritise interventions, based on the gravity of the leak and the appliance causing the leak.

Shayp has helped public and private organisations save hundreds of thousands of euros, including municipalities, hospitals, offices, retailers, schools, and multi-residential real estate owners. Thanks to Shayp, the City of Brussels is now saving over 50 million litres of water per annum.

Shayp’s solution to detect water leakages

Hydraloop has designed and developed a decentralised ‘grey water’ recycling system for homes and commercial premises. These award- winning devices help save both water and energy and can be used in cities, rural areas, and off-grid, where water supply may be unreliable.

The easy-to-use appliance treats shower and bath water so it can be re-used in toilets, washing machines, and for garden irrigation. It can save up to 45% of scarce drinking water, without compromising on convenience or comfort.

Hydraloop’s patented technology won multiple accolades at the CES 2020 trade fair in Las Vegas and is sold globally through a network of 140 sales, distribution, and service partners.

What’s next?

AMAVI believes the construction and real estate sector can punch above its weight in mitigating the effects of the water crisis, with PropTech providing answers and benefits throughout the lifetime of built assets. We’ll continue to build our specialist expertise in water management, and to seek out the most promising scale-ups in this exciting field.

Hydraloop’s solution to reuse grey water

AMAVI EXCEEDS TARGET, CLOSES FUND đŸš©

Posted on by Arne Allewaert

Just over a year ago, AMAVI Capital announced the closure of its first capital round, with more than EUR 30 million raised. On 12 July, the fund reached its next milestone, as Managing Partners Arne Allewaert and FrĂ©dĂ©ric Van den Weghe announced the closure of the final round, with the news that the AMAVI PropTech Fund stands at EUR 70 million – 10 million above its target.

A unique profile

AMAVI is a fully-independent investment fund with a pan-European footprint. As the first property technology fund in the Benelux region, and one of a handful of investors focusing solely on PropTech scale-ups in Europe, it draws its limited partners (LPs) mainly from the worlds of real estate and construction, while the presence of two institutional investors reflects the confidence of the wider market.

In its first two years AMAVI actively screened more than 750 companies and made nine investments throughout Europe. AMAVI will now expand itsportfolio to around 15 investments in innovative PropTech companies.

AMAVI knows what it takes to disrupt the largest asset class in the world: smart investment in promising scale-ups with a proven product-market fit, with an eye to the consolidation potential in a fragmented and emerging PropTech landscape.

Bridging the old and the new

An enormous gap has opened between old-school real estate and construction and the emerging PropTech movement. New technologies demand skills that the traditional industry may not possess, or are in short supply.

AMAVI bridges that gap. Its unique investor profile gives it expert insights, access to deal flow, and a distribution channel for the companies it invests in, and is mirrored in the expertise of its founders, who have backgrounds in real estate, private equity, and technology.

Over the past two years, the effects of Covid, stricter sustainability regulations, supply chain issues and inflation have all created tailwinds behind the PropTech industry. Our timing couldn’t be better.

Arne Allewaert

Fixing the pain points

In formulating the AMAVI Capital vision, Arne Allewaert and Frederic Van den Weghe identified the key challenges that are driving the PropTech sector forward and are likely to become even more relevant in the future.

AMAVI is leveraging European real estate expertise and capital to build an ecosystem that tackles these problems head-on.

What’s next

AMAVI is helping to grow and create the real estate sector of the future. It will soon be moving into new offices in Ghent (Belgium), and recently welcomed an additional investment analyst to the team. Arno Janssens joined in early June and will be pro-actively researching and mapping PropTech solutions that solve current pain points, are gaining traction, and are scalable.

To find out more about AMAVI Capital and its investment strategy, please contact us at hello@amavi.capital .

Construction and real estate accounts for an astonishing 38% of all global CO2 emissions. It’s barely digitised at all, and productivity has been declining for half a century. Technology can’t fix all these pain points overnight, but every PropTech company in our portfolio is making a significant difference.

Frédéric Van den Weghe

HYDRALOOP investment

Posted on by Arne Allewaert

Use water twice! 💩🌍💧

AMAVI is proud to announce its 8th fund investment: looking at the daily newspaper headlines on drought and waterscarcity, Hydraloop offers an urgently needed solution for a water sustainable world! The company has developed a decentralized ‘grey water’ recycling system. This easy-to-use home appliance treats shower and bath water to be re-used in toilets, washing machines and for garden irrigation. The solution allows a reduction of up to 45% of scarce drinking water, without compromising on any comfort!

It’s patented technology was elected “Best of the Best”, “Best Startup”, “Best of Innovation” and “Best Sustainable Product” at the CES 2020 trade fair in Las Vegas and is currently being sold globally through a network of 140 sales, distribution and service partners.

AMAVI Capital has led the 4,5m EUR investment round, with co-investments from The Future of Water Fund and crowdfunding through the Crowdcube platform.

Carbon negative construction company LEKO LABS announces $21 million oversubscribed Series A, appoints new CEO

Posted on by Arne Allewaert
  • LEKO LABS’s sustainably-sourced wood-based building materials solution able to replace up to 75% of concrete and steel used in a single building, dramatically reducing carbon footprint during construction
  • Wall system is highly insulating and can reduce heating and cooling needs by up to 87% whilst creating more commercially available floor space due to thinner wall requirements
  • New funding will be used to accelerate roll-out of LEKO LABS’s advanced software and robotics construction solution to supply finished walls across Europe
  • Total funding now sits at $23m

Luxembourg, 22nd February 2022. LEKO LABS, the Luxembourg based carbon negative construction company, today announces a $21 million Series A funding round.

The investment is led by urban sustainability-focused fund 2150 with participation from the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, Tencent, AMAVI, Rise PropTech Fund, Extantia and Freigeist. The total footprint of real estate developed, built or managed by LEKO LABS’s new investor base totals approximately 500 million sq ft., which corresponds to an area the size of Manhattan.

Former Lilium CCO Dr. Remo Gerber also joins the company as CEO, with current CEO and founder Francois Cordier reverting to the CTO role with the focus of furthering its groundbreaking sustainable building materials, robotics and software development.

LEKO LABS has developed a novel wall and floor system based entirely on wood and wood fibre, which is capable of replacing up 75% of concrete and steel currently used in constructing a single building. In incorporating engineered wood and a fully circular manufacturing process, the system provides not only a sustainable approach to building but superior insulation properties with thinner walls, enabling up to 10% more floor space for a given building.

The technology can be used for buildings up to 100m tall and multiple developments are in completion to date in its Benelux home market, from homes to office buildings, data-centres and beyond. The wall system is also highly insulating and can reduce heating and cooling needs of a building by up to 87% compared to today’s standards, whilst potentially enabling buildings to remain carbon neutral over their entire lifetime.

LEKO LABS’s software platform calculates and optimises thermal, acoustic and static properties of the buildings, resolving moisture and noise problems typically associated with wooden buildings. Its algorithm optimizes each building reducing wood usage vs traditional builds by up to 50%, making best use of the precious natural resource.

By introducing an automotive style, robotics driven approach to the manufacturing of buildings, more can be delivered in much shorter time and at higher quality in comparison to traditional construction approaches. This benefits not only construction companies but also workers able to perform their duties in a safe and clean environment.

The Series A funding is one of the most substantial capital raises in the sustainable building sector in Europe, an area for a long time underfunded by venture capital investments. This is especially important considering 39% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from housing with one third of that from raw materials production of concrete and steel and two thirds from heating and cooling our buildings. The new funding will enable LEKO LABS to scale its advanced software and robotics construction solution throughout Europe including Germany, the Nordics and the UK, supplying finished walls from its factory in Luxembourg.

Francois Cordier, CTO and Founder at LEKO LABS: “I’m delighted to welcome Remo as our new CEO and our new investors to help deliver our vision towards a more sustainable building sector. Together we have a strong shot on the goal of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions in 2040 by 1% using the LEKO LABS advanced building technology. His experience in scaling companies and capitalising them will be instrumental for the success of the company.”

Dr. Remo Gerber, CEO at LEKO LABS: “I could not be more excited to join the journey with Francois and the entire LEKO LABS team, it’s such an important and critical mission. We are making a difference today, each of our walls saves several tons of CO2 here and now. By scaling up our solution with automotive robotics we will achieve global impact in the coming years.”

The investor group was led by urban sustainability technology VC fund 2150, who closed their first $310 million fund in October 2021. The fund’s mission is to invest in technologies addressing the planet’s most pressing climate change problems, and they have in particular identified the built environment as a key challenge.

Christian Hernandez, co-founder at 2150 said: “The LEKO LABS team is on an important mission to help decarbonise the built environment with a fundamentally different and scalable approach. We are delighted to partner with LEKO LABS bringing our climate tech and strong European property investor basis to play and help adoption of a groundbreaking new approach.”

LEKO LABS’s 5L walls are commercially attractive to build with, and when combined with inbuilt insulation can reduce wall thickness by up to 40%, creating more property floor space. Furthermore, usage of the solution can enable total building times to be shrunk by up to 50%, reducing noise and waste at construction sites to a minimum. Thus, overall building with LEKO LABS’s system is close to carbon neutral with a commercially superior solution.

The system of LEKO LABS can be applied in most building settings from single family homes, to apartment or office buildings and industrial warehouses or data centers. It is a commercially attractive solution with one of the lowest carbon footprints possible from the moment the building is completed and throughout the lifetime with low heating and cooling emissions. So future residents can sleep in peace knowing they built sustainable and corporate organisations have a real solution to help achieve their Net Zero goals.

About LEKO LABS:

LEKO LABS S.A. was founded by Francois Cordier in 2017 with a vision to accelerate the adoption of sustainable building materials in the built environment. It has grown to over 30 FTE in Luxembourg and has recently opened a subsidiary in Switzerland and will soon open an office in London. It has developed a groundbreaking wood composite structure capable of replacing concrete bearing walls in any type of building up to 100m tall. Buildings are delivered today in its home BENELUX market, saving thousands of tons of CO2 and expansion is planned across Europe in 2022.