Hong Kong property listings start-up Spacious attracts US$3 million to grow in Asia
Hong Kong property listings start-up Spacious.hk has closed a US$3 million funding round including investment from Nest VC partner Billal Naveed, according to media reports last week.
The funding, which includes investment by Martin Haigh, chief executive of ticketing website Ticketflap, will be used to support the property portal’s expansion in Asia, TechCrunch reported on Thursday.
"The primary use of funds is to accelerate expansion in Hong Kong and help to setup the business in other cities across Asia. Most of the investors in this funding round were original investors in our seed round, the fact they are coming in again is great validation for the business," said Spacious.hk founder Asif Ghafoor.
The announcement follows on from Hong Kong logistics start-up GoGoVan’s US$10 million investment, also last week, and the US$6.6 million raised by local storage start-up Boxful.
Spacious was launched in 2013 by Ghafoor, a former equity technology developer for international banks, to provide reliable and user-friendly rental and sales listings for Hong Kong. It has since expanded internationally.
On top of listings, the website provides data on average prices, neighbourhood demographics and local schools, information Ghafoor said allows users to make more informed choices.
Earlier this year, Spacious.hk expanded to offer rental listings for Singapore, Taipei and Shanghai.
The site is also targeting wealthy Asian investors looking for property investments in London and Miami through partnerships with real estate agents Keller Williams in Britain and Brokers International Realty in the United States.
A Hong Kong resident since 2007, Ghafoor has real estate in his blood: his parents run a property business in East London.