Castle One, a South African prop-tech venture building group, has received a “significant investment” from HL Hall and Sons Holdings, which the company says will generate new, synergistic value for the real estate market both locally and globally.
Castle One has been working in the emerging prop-tech space since 2018, having been founded by tech entrepreneurs Jonothan Rawson and Mark Forrester.
The venture capital firm is currently investing in three local real estate tech firms namely Prop Data, a digital marketing and business platform for real estate, reOS, a rental payments and portfolio automation platform, and Ekaya, which provides prospective tenants with a single profile to assist landlords and property managers.
Halls is a 130-year-old family-owned company with local and international holdings in variety of industries, including data and analytics, real estate, and pharmaceuticals. According to Rawson, Halls’ investment in Castle One will allow the company to accelerate its innovation journey while also expanding its worldwide presence.
Despite the fact that the prop-tech space in South Africa has attracted a lot of attention in recent years, Rawson says that companies have had a hard time succeeding even when they have something unique to offer.
The industry’s particular dynamics, according to Rawson, presents a number of “invisible barriers to innovation.” Castle One’s venture-building model, which entails investing in and developing new products and ventures while generating synergies and network effects, appears to be a solution to this problem. In recent years, the distinctiveness of its strategy has attracted investment from a variety of players, culminating in the latest deal with Halls.
“Our investment into Castle One is tremendously exciting as our companies have strong shared values and a common vision for how technology can benefit the real estate sector,” said Halls chief executive officer (CEO) Pete Backwell.