Rent2Cash, an Italian startup bringing rental advance services to landlords, offering upfront payouts of up to three years’ rent, has raised a €3 million pre-seed round and launched operations in Italy. The investment is financed by major Italian banking groups, as well as institutional investors and business angels. The company purchased its first rental credits via Banca Finint, which will be financed through the securitisation of those contracts.
The funds will be used towards the acquisition of the first rental contracts, product and feature launches, particularly in the commercial real estate sector, and the consolidation of its technology platform. Rent2Cash will also recruit 30 new talents, across product, sales and marketing in the coming months.
Rent2Cash offers upfront payouts of up to three years’ future rents to owners of rented properties. In exchange, it manages rent collection, provides dedicated assistance to clients and secures a formal liquidity proposal within 10 days of the client’s request. Banca Finint, who services the securitization process and also operates as an advisor and investor, has played a key role in rolling out the very first securitizations in this sector.
“This funding round is a stamp of credibility for our business model and validates our vision and execution to date,” explained the Founders of Rent2Cash Gianluca Fioranelli, Yilang Chen and Marco Grassi. “The funds will fuel our product development efforts, accelerate the go-to-market timeline for our commercial real estate products in the coming weeks, and sustain our growth and hiring ambitions. The idea behind our project is to redefine the perceived value of a building by transforming a rental contract into immediate liquidity for the owners in a market that is estimated at over €30 billion a year in Italy alone and $2.5 trillion worldwide.”
Proprietary Algorithm
Among other things, the Italian startup plans to expand VAULT, its proprietary algorithm. VAULT can already analyse over 50 variables to examine the state of the property, the rental agreement, the owner and the tenant’s scoring, offering clients dynamic and personalised pricing. The algorithm will soon include new asset classes, and expand into the commercial property sector.
“We are thrilled to back Rent2Cash, and to become advisors, investors and servicer of the securitisation. The investment is in line with our commitment to support new solutions in the financial market, and offer our expertise to promising and innovative businesses,” added Paolo Gabriele, Head of Investment Banking Financial Institution of Banca Finint. “Rent2Cash platform represents a unicum in this segment, operating in an untapped sector with huge potential for growth. The securitisation market is an area in which Banca Finint has considerable expertise and a leading position in the Italian market. We believe that it’s a financial instrument of choice for investors looking to support disruptive players in the fintech space.”
