From the first round of Tech Invest four short years ago to now, 19 of the presenting companies have raised funding, two floated on AIM and two have been acquired. GrowthBusiness presents the top 13 Tech Innovators of the year.
BrickVest was created with one goal in mind: to democratise real estate investing by making the investment process more accessible, transparent and less costly for a broader range of investors through technology.
BrickVest – a snapshot
BrickVest was founded by experienced real estate and technology professionals with backgrounds in real estate investing, managing and financing, united in the aim of making property investment mainstream.
Based in: London
Founded in: November 2014
No. of employees: 14
At the helm: Emmanuel Lumineau, CEO & co-founder
Emmanuel Lumineau has over 15 years of investment experience in technology, real estate and energy infrastructure. He was a co-founder of 1OAK, a $250 million hedge fund focusing on technology with whom he was a pre-IPO investor in Twitter and has spent a decade in real estate and tech investment banking involved in $40 billion deals globally.
Inside track
In hindsight…
I think the problem with hindsight is that you think everything could have gone just that bit quicker and that we could have been more reactive. Every single day, I look back in order to see how we can do things better tomorrow. Have I become complacent? Are we challenging ourselves enough? That reflective approach allows us to become a stronger team every day and that invariably will lead us onto the path to success.
Ultimate business motto?
Never assume you have the answers. Be humble, listen to your customers and their guidance will be the catalyst for success.
What motivates your team?
Our culture is inherently diverse and team-oriented. It is non-hierarchical and full of intelligent, talented individuals that push each other to grow every day. Ultimately, as a fairly early stage company, we have to work towards the same goal and that is to revolutionise an industry plagued by a lack of transparency, high fees and endless middlemen. As such, I hope that the team is motivated by the chance to be part of a life-changing opportunity.
Life post-Brexit?
Well, you can’t ignore the impact that Brexit will have on the FinTech and the tech sector more widely. London is not only a place to invest and manage investment opportunities but it’s also place to create and build innovative companies from the ground up. We have been afforded that luxury by a fair regulatory environment and unprecedented access to the talent and funding that comes with being part of the world’s largest economic union. Brexit has had and will have a profound effect on the perception of the UK as a leading global financial and tech hub, challenging the whole construct of the finance industry. Fortunately, we are well suited to react and come out stronger in the wake of Brexit. We have a plug and play model so that means we can be agile in response to changes in market conditions but certainly, we do have to revisit our business model and be more considered about where we base our headquarters.
Products
- Online marketplace connecting international investors with institutional quality commercial real estate investment opportunities.
- Comprehensive fund and investor reporting service.
- Secondary trading platform expected in Q3 2016
Recent technology
BrickVest is making use of blockchain to ensure that all information about investment opportunities are stored in an immutable way so that investors get access to fully audited, trustful historical information about the investment. This will be reinforced by the use of smart contracts allowing transparent and efficient transactions on the blockchain.
Recent milestones
- 4th April 2015 – £650,000 seed funding closed
- 17th February 2016 – BrickVest platform officially live
- April 2016 – First €1 million raised through the platform
- End of April 2016 – Two deals officially closed and oversubscribed
Upcoming milestones
- Closing of third investment opportunity in June 2016
- Another three to five additional deals brought to the platform over the summer of 2016
- Launch of secondary trading platform Q3 2016
- Series A investment round in Q4 2016 and breakeven reached in September 2016
Alliances
- Network of 130 real estate sponsors
- Strategic investment in BrickVest by many key real estate sponsors, such as Corestate Capital Group, ÆRIUM Capital, and Beos AG.
- Strategic partnerships with premier service providers including Reykers Securities, Nabarro LLP, BDO and Sapia Partners to provide our sponsors with outsourced solutions enabled by BrickVest proprietary technology.
Investors
- Global Founders Capital, the venture capital arm of Rocket Internet.
- 30 angel investors, VC funds and industry experts within real estate, technology and investments including Picus Capital, ADSI Capital, and members of the CBRE.
Contact details
74 Rivington Street, London EC2A 3AY
Tel: +44 (0) 203 859 7317
Email: contact@brickvest.com
Website: https://brickvest.com/en
