Rocket Internet’s property portal Lamudi raises $31.4m from existing backers

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Lamudi, Rocket Internet’s property listings site for emerging markets, today announced it has added US$31.4 million (EUR 29 million) to its coffers after closing a new investment.

The company secured the investment from Asia Pacific Internet Group, a joint venture between Rocket Internet itself and Qatari telco Ooredoo; European VC firm Holtzbrinck Ventures; and Tengelmann Ventures, a division of retailer Tengelmann. All three are existing backers of Lamudi, having injected US$18 million into the company about a year ago.

The company’s statement says it will use the money to strengthen its Asia and Latin operations. Launched in 2013, Lamudi operates in nine markets, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Colombia, and Peru.

“The additional funds will allow us to achieve market leadership and dominance in more markets at a faster rate,” says co-founder and managing director Kian Moini.

“We are well on our way to achieving this. It is now important for us to develop Lamudi as a brand, to raise market awareness, and to continue to provide a reliable, secure platform for house-hunters, developers, and agents,” he adds in an interview with Tech in Asia.

Kian says they’ve seen significant growth in traffic on the platform, which now has close to one million listings globally. Transactions have also surged, with Lamudi booking a 460 percent rise in revenue last year.

He says they had an intense 2015, particularly in the Philippines, where they increased the size of their marketplace by acquiring rival MyProperty. While the Philippines is one of the company’s strongest markets, the country has grown crowded with the rise of several property portals trying to take advantage of the past years’ real estate boom. The country is also now experiencing a bit of a slowdown in property prices because of a supply glut.

Despite this, Kian believes Lamudi’s revenue will climb even faster this year.

Apart from the Philippines, Lamudi is also a market leader in Bangladesh, according to him.

The company has identified its core markets at this point and will continue to give these markets a boost.

“We don’t currently have plans to expand into new markets. We are fully focused on becoming the leading online real estate portal in each of our active markets, so our priority is the development of our presence in these countries. However, we aren’t excluding the possibility of launching in new markets. We are conducting market research and following global trends regularly. Technically, expanding into a new market only takes us a couple of weeks,” Kian explains.