The Proptech Briefing, Tuesday 16th September 2025

Key Takeaways

• UK rental supply tightens — compliance, evidence and tenant-retention tooling are now non-negotiables in residential and social/supported housing. RICS Residential Market Survey — https://www.rics.org/uk/news-insight/research/market-surveys/

• Europe’s visualisation stack consolidates — strong buy-and-build runway emerging for investors. Floorfy — https://floorfy.com/

• Fintech rails in housing continue to attract institutional backing as distribution and compliance mature. Figure — https://www.figure.com/

• AI deepens in transactions and ops — repair triage, risk detection, energy optimisation shifting cost curves. Plentific — https://www.plentific.com/resources

• Equity capital active in compliance/ESG, operating efficiency and embedded finance. Fuel Ventures — https://www.fuel.ventures/

United Kingdom

• Rental supply imbalance persists. Net balance of landlord instructions remains negative, underpinning rent pressure. RICS Residential Market Survey — https://www.rics.org/uk/news-insight/research/market-surveys/

• Compliance-by-design in social housing. Diagnostic triage and SLA evidence capture are in procurement focus as Awaab’s Law deadlines loom. Gov.uk — Awaab’s Law — https://www.gov.uk/government/news/awaabs-law

United States

• Fintech rails validation. Home-equity liquidity platforms are securing regulatory traction and capital markets validation. Figure — https://www.figure.com/

• Valuation workflow modernisation. Lender/AMC integrations speeding appraisal cycles, winning VC backing. Reggora — https://www.reggora.com/

Europe (ex-UK)

• Visualisation consolidation. Platforms such as Floorfy and Realistico are expanding footprints — buy-and-build potential rising. Floorfy — https://floorfy.com/ Realistico — https://www.realistico.com/

• AI-assisted transactions. Platforms in France and Spain compressing close times via pricing intel, qualification, and workflow automation. Zefir — https://www.zefir.fr/

Asia & Middle East

• Fractional/tokenised real estate. GCC players piloting compliant fractional investment and cross-border distribution. Cityscape Global — https://www.cityscapeglobal.com/

VC/PE Investment Activity

• Fuel Ventures leads a £1.2m seed round in UK conveyancing ESG-risk software (Martello). Fuel Ventures — https://www.fuel.ventures/ Martello — https://martello.tech/ Tech.eu — https://tech.eu/2025/05/15/uk-proptech-martello-raises-1-2m-to-modernise-environmental-risk-reporting/

• Centana Growth Partners backs US appraisal/valuation workflow platform Reggora. Centana Growth Partners — https://www.centanagrowth.com/ Reggora — https://www.reggora.com/

• General Catalyst supports a GCC fractional platform expanding compliance and distribution. General Catalyst — https://www.generalcatalyst.com/ Cityscape Global — https://www.cityscapeglobal.com/

• UK/EU family offices adding exposure to compliance automation and PRS ops stacks (sub-£20m cheques). Goodlord Rental Index — https://www.goodlord.co/rental-index

Market Insights

• RICS Residential Survey — landlord instructions remain negative. RICS — https://www.rics.org/uk/news-insight/research/market-surveys/

• Goodlord Rental Index — rents up YoY, voids lengthening slightly. Goodlord — https://www.goodlord.co/rental-index

• Plentific housing insights — under-investment in predictive risk detection flagged. Plentific — https://www.plentific.com/resources

Proptech Chart of the Week

UK new landlord instructions (net balance) remain negative. Source: RICS Residential Market Survey

So what? Shrinking landlord supply continues to underpin rental growth and create operational stress for agents. Unless policy or supply dynamics change, this imbalance will persist through 2026.

Operator Play of the Week

Bundle compliance with tenant retention. Combine damp/mould diagnostics and evidence capture with self-serve repairs, smart scheduling and arrears nudges. Why? De-risks regulation while reducing voids and protecting net yield. Plentific — https://www.plentific.com/resources

Policy & Regulation Radar

• UK: Awaab’s Law enforcement driving compliance spend. Gov.uk — https://www.gov.uk/government/news/awaabs-law

• EU: Energy performance directives creating retrofit finance demand. European Commission — https://energy.ec.europa.eu/index_en

• US: Appraisal modernisation pilots emphasise API-first integrations. FHFA — https://www.fhfa.gov/

Key Theme Deep Dives

Proptech × Fintech Intersect

• Figure IPO: Strong public market reception validates demand for fintech rails in real estate. Read more ›

• Payments & rent: Consolidation of embedded finance platforms continues; penetration in rental flows increasing. Read more ›

• Why it matters: Speed, compliance and trust are defining competitive advantage.

AI in Real Estate

• Agent copilots evolve: Moving beyond messaging and listings into full transaction workflows, driving material productivity gains. Read more ›

• Operational AI: Repair triage, damp/mould risk detection, and energy optimisation are being integrated into asset management. Read more ›

• Why it matters: This wave shifts AI from a productivity add-on to a core driver of margin protection and compliance assurance.

Events

• Future PropTech UK — London, 1 Oct 2025

• CREtech New York — 21–22 Oct 2025

• UKPA Annual Summit — Birmingham, 23 Oct 2025

• PropTech Connect Europe — Amsterdam, 5–6 Nov 2025

• Cityscape Global — Riyadh, 17–20 Nov 2025

Further Reading

• CrowdProperty UK Newsletter — residential UK market insights

• CrowdProperty Australia Newsletter — residential Australian market insights

About Mike

Mike Bristow is an experienced business leader, strategic advisor and investor at the intersection of property, finance, and technology. Founder and former CEO of CrowdProperty (recognised in the Sunday Times Hundred list of fastest growing profitable businesses in the UK, the Deloitte Fast50 list of fastest growing technology businesses, the FT1000 list of Europe’s fastest growing businesses for four consecutive years, the TechNation Fintech programme and as a WIRED trailblazer), Mike has been personally recognised as Tech Entrepreneur of the Year finalist in the Go:Tech Awards, Inspirational Leader of the Year finalist at the UK PropTech Awards, awarded Entrepreneur of the Year and Business Person of the Year by the Midlands Business Awards and featured in the Alternative Credit Investor Power 50 list five years in a row. Nearly two decades advising private equity buyouts and portfolio company growth strategies; investor in 35+ tech/AI businesses; IC member at Europe’s most prolific proptech specialist VC (100+ proptech investments globally). London Business School MBA; FT NED Diploma; Chartered Accountant; First Class MEng.

📩 Contact me via LinkedIn or growth-strategy.com to explore strategy, growth, transformation, or capital raising in proptech, fintech and real estate.

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