Rotterdam-based Chainels, a property management platform, announced on Tuesday, January 24, that it has raised €3M in a Series A round of funding from Aconterra and Capricorn Partners (through its Capricorn Digital Growth Fund).
The tenant experience app says it will use the funds to scale its customer success team and roll out new features on its platform.
Aconterra and Capricorn Partners, with their background in PropTech, have also partnered with Chainels for its next growth phase.
“This is a huge leap forward for the future of Chainels,” says Erwin Buckers, CEO of Chainels. “As real estate companies seek out technologies that optimise property and asset management, we’ve shown again and again that our platform can help them succeed. Our goal is to become the go-to platform to help them lower operational costs, improve tenant satisfaction and retention, and infuse added value into their portfolios.”
Chainels: What you need to know
Founded by Erwin Buckers (CEO), Sander Verseput (COO), and Willem Buijs (Creative Director), Chainels began as a graduation project at the Delft University of Technology in 2011.
The platform aims to enhance communication between all stakeholders, including landlords, tenants, occupiers, investors, owners, developers, operators, local authorities, and public officials.
The app includes a booking platform, a ticketing system for maintenance requests, and data reporting and messaging functionalities.
Through the app, Chainels aims to replace an outdated process with its digital solution to simplify operations and improve communications.
“With our in-house developers and dedicated customer success team, I’m confident that we can continue to realise this vision,” says Sander Verseput.
Chainels claimed to have assisted the digitalisation of operations within the residential portfolio of Fuzer by Amvest, as well as the retail portfolio of Multi Corporation. Last year, the Dutch company served Vienna AirportCity, and the retail company that serves Dutch national railways.
Currently, they operate in over 400 communities across 16 countries in Europe and South America.
The Investors
Aconterra is a thematic ‘Smart Building Technology’ venture capital fund. It finances and supports European early-stage companies that make buildings more intelligent and energy efficient, safer, and better to live or work in.
“As an investor focusing on smart building technology, Aconterra understands the market’s needs very well and believes the Chainels platform is perfectly positioned to solve these needs,” says Tim Govaert, Venture Partner at Aconterra.
Capricorn Partners is an independent European manager of venture capital and equity funds, investing in innovative European companies with technology as a competitive advantage.
“At Capricorn Partners, we are excited to invest in Chainels given the impressive track record the team has accomplished with limited resources. In addition, we are bullish about the market potential for the Chainels solution, which addresses many dimensions of a healthy relationship between tenants and property managers,” says Steven Lambert, Investment Director at Capricorn Partners.
