SA Proptech and digitalisation company, e4 expands to UK
South African property tech and digital solutions provider, e4 has announced its expansion into European markets, making the UK its international go-to-market. In a statement, the company says long-standing executive director Simon Slater has relocated to the UK to head up the venture.
Slater’s focus, it notes, will be on building e4’s relationship with various mortgage lenders, conveyancing firms, and other partners in the UK. He will be supported by a global team of analysts, developers, and staff to help build out the new group.
“Having worked on international opportunities remotely now for the past two years, we are at a stage where we need to rapidly set up a full client team on the ground in the UK and grow the international development teams in Mauritius to develop UK solutions. It is tremendously exciting to see the potential of the tech know-how and experience that we can bring to a new, advanced market,” Slater said.
Proptech has received over US$9.7 billion of funding activity in the first half of 2021 and e4, which has been operational in the South African market for 21 years, provides digital tools to assist financial service providers and real estate agencies in streamlining their services.
e4’s expansion follows the tradition of other South African startups like Flow, FlexClub, Planet42, AURA and OfferZen that have shied from the African market, moving instead to Asian and European markets which offer more prospects.
In South Africa, e4 says it’s established a significant client base, including major local lenders and law firms, and has identified a similar opportunity in the UK market. It is also the company behind the online bond aggregator MortgageMe.
“We are taking a strong combination of skillsets into a brand-new market, using our knowledge to build and create core localised proptech solutions. It is early days, but we have good momentum and great partners, with a fantastic roadmap ahead,” adds Slater.
“We are setting our clients up for the future of mortgage processing and transaction management as the world’s most valuable industry − real estate − undergoes a long-awaited digital transformation. With the backing of e4 in South Africa, we are ideally placed to make a real difference in the UK proptech market.”