A new digital bank built specifically for landlords has raised £1m in seed investment ahead of its planned launch in coming weeks.
The new start-up, Hammock, raised the funding from investors from Fuel Ventures and Ascension Ventures.
The bank’s platform is designed to provide landlords with a real-time view of their rental properties, tracking payments and expenses and reporting on the financial wellbeing of each house or flat.
Its launch will see it reveal a current account, followed by plans for money and lending services.
Hammock CEO, Manoj Varsani, also a landlord, said the platform would automate the “mundane duties” of managing a property portfolio.
He said of the seed funding: “Having this new investment allows us to pursue our vision of reducing uncertainty and providing efficiency to landlords, ultimately helping them maximise profits. These savings in both time and money can then be passed onto the tenants: a win-win for the industry.”
“We’re very bullish about the impact of open banking on bringing value to consumers through their account data”, adds Mark Pearson, Managing Partner at Fuel Ventures.
“Hammock is a great example of this happening for landlords, who, now more than ever, need to be able to track the performance of their property portfolios. In our initial discussions, we were incredibly impressed by Hammocks’ early product and the progress they had made with the funding they had.
“We’re incredibly excited to be part of this latest round of investment, giving Hammock the fuel to bring real value to the UK’s 2.5 million landlords.”