_Knight Frank invests in Fifth Wall’s European proptech fund
With this fund, Fifth Wall aims to accelerate innovation across European property sectors, replicating the success of its Fund I and Fund II, which were focused on investing primarily in US-based real estate technology startups. Fifth Wall hopes to bring this same level of engagement to European startups, connecting them as valuable solutions to some of the European real estate market’s most pressing challenges. Knight Frank’s investment in the Fifth Wall European Real Estate Technology Fund will provide the property consultancy with insights into future technology trends that are shaping the Built World and disrupting the industry.
Alistair Elliott, Senior Partner & Group Chairman at Knight Frank, said: “I am delighted that the partnership has made a strategic decision to invest into Fifth Wall’s European Real Estate Technology Fund. The key objective being to insure we have active involvement in the ever evolving proptech arena, whilst ensuring we are able to embrace initiatives to better improve our client service. This investment is particularly pertinent given our focus on shaping our firm’s future in its 125th year.”
“The collision taking place between tech and real estate is complicated and Fifth Wall was founded with the intention of helping firms like Knight Frank define and accelerate their tech adoption strategy,” said Brendan Wallace, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Fifth Wall. “Since Fifth Wall's inception in 2016, we’ve worked with North American, Asian and European real estate organizations to execute investments in, and structure partnerships with, category-leading technology companies to help ensure the ongoing health and growth of their businesses. We’re excited to welcome Knight Frank as a new member of Fifth Wall’s global consortium of more than 65 corporate real estate investors from 15 countries, and we’re eager to help Alistair and the Knight Frank team engage more fully with the European proptech ecosystem.”
Knight Frank’s investment into Fifth Wall is the firm’s latest play in the proptech space. Over the last five years, Knight Frank has bolstered its digital offering, ensuring it is at the forefront of innovation in real estate. Notably, the firm has made major investments into a new Data Centre team and Geospatial mapping capabilities, as well as several successful partnerships with promising international start-ups.
“We believe that the European proptech market is on the cusp of accelerated tech adoption, and we look forward to working with Knight Frank as it embraces this change,” said Roelof Opperman, Partner, Co-Head of Europe, Fifth Wall. “While developing a deep understanding of Knight Frank’s strategic priorities, we’ll also aim to facilitate connections for them with some of the most promising European proptech startups, resulting in both financially sound and strategically relevant outcomes.”