PropertyGuru raises S$300m from TPG, KKR to boost growth

US private equity giants TPG Capital and KKR, as PropertyGuru's largest shareholders, have pumped an additional S$300 million into the South-east Asia-focused property technology firm.

The fresh injection, raised from two recent rounds of new funding, will accelerate PropertyGuru's growth strategy across its key markets, said the Singapore-based startup, which pulled the plug on a A$380.2 million (S$380.5 million) initial public offering (IPO) less than a year ago.

In a press statement on Wednesday, PropertyGuru said it will further invest in identified areas of growth, including its new mortgage marketplace, an end-to-end sales enablement solution for property developers as well as data capabilities to help property seekers "find, finance and own" their homes.

This comes as the group is ramping up its investment to meet the "rapidly evolving needs in the property ecosystem", it added.

Olivier Lim, PropertyGuru's chairman, said that amid the "changing business realities", there are new opportunities to accelerate both organic and inorganic growth with new investments.

Meanwhile, the group's chief executive officer and managing director Hari Krishnan noted that more consumers and customers are moving towards digital solutions for property buying and selling.

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"As the market leader, we look forward to providing further innovations to digitise the property sector," Mr Krishnan added. PropertyGuru said it continued to hold the biggest market share in South-east Asia at 57 per cent.

The startup expanded into home finance this March with the launch of a mortgage marketplace in Singapore.

Last October, PropertyGuru attempted to list in Australia and raise funds primarily to pursue growth, including through acquisitions. The money was not needed to fund ongoing operations. However, just two days before its shares were set to begin trading, its board ditched the IPO, citing market uncertainty despite strong investor support.

If the IPO had been completed, TPG and KKR would have held 26 per cent and 23.3 per cent stakes respectively, based on the midpoint of the indicative price range, down from 30.4 per cent and 27.25 per cent.

PropertyGuru's online property marketplaces across the region are PropertyGuru in Singapore and Malaysia, Batdongsan.com.vn in Vietnam, DDproperty.com in Thailand, and Rumah.com and RumahDijual.com in Indonesia.

According to Mr Krishnan, the proptech group's revenue rose 24 per cent from a year ago to S$88.4 million on a pro forma basis in 2019, beating forecasts, thanks to surging wealth in the region.

Additional reporting by Rachel Mui