Augmentum puts £2.5m into rent-to-own startup Unmortgage

The London-listed firm said it was participating in the fundraising alongside existing investor Exponential Ventures, and other investors.

It explained that Unmortgage would offer a “unique” part-own part-rent model of home ownership, requiring from 5% deposit, with customers paying a market rent on the portion of the home that Unmortgage owned.

It said customers would have the ability to increase their equity in the property as their financial circumstances allowed.

The new funds were being raised by Unmortgage to scale the business, and take the team from 12 to 40 people before the end of 2018 and prior to launch in 2019.

“One of the things we look for in a potential investment is a business that is genuinely pathfinding in a sector which is ripe for innovation. In too many cases home-ownership remains out of reach for people, and the Unmortgage model addresses in an innovative way how people can access the homes they both need and want,” said Augmentum chief executive officer Tim Levene.

“The business is also attracting fintech talent who want to participate in a business that has at its heart a social purpose.”