A SCOTTISH property company is preparing for expansion after securing a £7 million funding package.
Edinburgh-based D J Alexander secured the finance from Santander’s structured finance growth capital team, which will be used to help launch Alexander’s online property business Apropos.
The business is expected create substantial new job opportunities across the UK over the coming years.
Alexander will use the growth capital package to help it address the increasing trend for online and digitisation to launch Apropos, which is a fully integrated online property management portal, which it said would extend the reach of its residential property letting business nationwide.
It said Apropos will be the first full-service UK-wide online tenant and landlord management system of scale on its launch, which is set for January.
The development of the online platform has taken three years to complete and has been fully funded from the company’s existing profits.
Its new package will enable Apropos to be rolled out across the UK over the next three years.
Established in 1982, D J Alexander Edinburgh Ltd (DJA) is the largest independent property letting agency in Scotland.
It has more than 4000 rental properties under management, principally across Edinburgh and Glasgow.
DJA also provides a full estate agency, property investment, maintenance and conveyancing services.
David Alexander, joint managing director of Apropos by D J Alexander, said : “With this funding package from Santander we will launch our property management platform Apropos in January and roll out the service across the UK.
“We have already reached our target of 25 signed-up business partners who will represent the firm in different areas.
“We now cover 70% of Greater London along with 45% of the rest of the UK including Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Nottingham, Newcastle, Coventry and many other cities and towns.
“We want the Apropos platform to be the place where the best landlords want their properties listed and where tenants know they can trust our service.
“We want our partners, our landlords and our tenants to believe in what we do and ensure that we have the best platform combined with locally based property experts creating a platform that changes the way in which letting is delivered.”
“We have been very impressed with Santander throughout the whole process and have really appreciated their engagement and involvement with our business and growth plans.
“We’re excited about our future and look forward to working closely to continue to grow our business.”
Richard Mathison, structured finance director at Santander UK, added: “We have been working with D J Alexander over the past 10 months to understand their growth plans and to deepen our knowledge of their business and the opportunities available with the launch of the new online platform, Apropos.
“During this time, we have been extremely impressed by their management team and their vision for a future lettings environment by creating a transparent digital platform benefitting both landlords and tenants alike. We look forward to supporting the business and its future ambitions.”
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