Will buy to let investors be lured by latest crowdfund investment site?

Propio, another crowdfunding platform, has launched with the ambitious claim of expecting returns from residential investments of between six and 15 per cent per year. 

As with other platforms in this niche field, Propio says it’s targeting high net worth professional and modestly-funded amateur investors alike, and allows them to invest from £1,000 upwards in either an individual property or a pooled set of multiple properties. 

New builds are the main investments and subscribers to the service’s website can see detailed information about the opportunities, independent valuation information and each project’s timeline. 

Propio has been developed by Shahil Kotecha of equity-focussed investment firm Pivot, Mani Khiroya and Parul Scampion of Fruition Properties, and entrepreneur Tom Buttress.

It is being used by Pivot and Fruition to raise funds, and it is now ready for other developers and lenders to use to raise both equity and debt. 

Subscribers see a Dashboard and My Investment screens with details of the performance of their investmentsa, as well as quarterly written updates. 

Returns are made to an e-wallet which subscribers have, and from which they can either reinvest in other Propio projects or withdraw into their own bank account. 

Propio says the far end of the scheme will see investment for new homes, saying “we’ve seen first-hand how hard it can be for small and medium-sized property firms to get finance ... So, we decided to change things.”