The pandemic has profoundly changed the way we live, work and travel, which has led to an exponential increase in demand for second homes. However, 75% of potential owners find it difficult to acquire a second home. Factors such as price, maintenance costs, the amount of red tape and the risk of having a house unoccupied for almost eleven months of the year discourage people from making this kind of investment.
vivathe co-ownership startup that facilitates the flexible purchase of second homes, has just raised 26 million euros in pre-seed, with the aim of becoming the European leader in this new real estate category.
As a result of this funding round, Vivla is now the best-funded co-ownership startup in Europe. The investment round is led by pan-European fund Samaipata with participation from New York-based FJ Labs (the world’s leading venture capital fund), UK fintech hedge fund Fasanara, Accel and Extension Fund. It also involves a very select group of business angels and successful entrepreneurs such as Chelsea footballer César Azpilicueta, several early Airbnb employees such as Kintxo Cortés (which co-invests with Accel), key players in the financial sector and technology such as Nathalie Picquot, prominent members of Endeavor such as Adrián Garcia-Aranyos and CEOs of well-known startups such as Spotahome, Ironhack, ThePowerMBA, Constella, Ticketea, Tiko, Ukio and Smartick.
A long journey of three founders
The three founders of the company, Ivan Rodriguez, Carlos Floria and Carlos Emilio Gomez, are entrepreneurs with extensive experience in the technology sector. Iván Rodríguez co-founded Parclick, which was sold to Italian group FAAC in 2019. Carlos Floria managed Inveready’s debt fund for years before founding his own startup, Gazella. Additionally, after many years working for Google, Carlos Emilio Gómez co-founded 7r, a Spanish venture capital builder, which invested in Vivla and through which he previously founded three other proptech startups in partnership with major corporations. real estate such as Savills Aguirre. Newman, Sareb and Pryconsa. Two of these companies were sold in 2021.
Carlos Emilio Gomez, CEO and co-founder of Vivla, said, “Condominiums are a new category of real estate that will transform the second home sector. It was created in response to changing social consumption patterns and the post-Covid explosion in demand which has created a new generation of buyers looking to reap the benefits of home ownership while avoiding the hassles and stresses that usually come with it. In addition, co-ownership promotes a more sustainable real estate and tourism model, allowing owners to fully occupy their property every month of the year”.
In Southern Europe alone, there are 18 million homes that are only occupied 15% of the time, while millions of Europeans are looking for long-term accommodation in the same areas. The condominium is therefore the ideal solution for them.
Solid legal and financial foundation
Vivla is an innovative real estate model that allows anyone to become the legal owner of any property and enjoy it flexibly, without having to buy the entire property. Vivla has developed an innovative legal framework in collaboration with Garrigues, the No. 1 law firm in Spain with extensive international experience. A family could invest €300,000 in an exclusive €2.4 million villa in Ibiza and be able to use it for six weeks every year. They wouldn’t have to worry about managing the property, maintenance costs would be shared, and they could liquidate their investment at any time.
The significant financing round will see Vivla become a strong property buyer in local markets, with plans to complete €100m in home purchases over the next 24 months. Vivla will partner with the most exclusive local developers and agencies to select and certify the best properties in each destination. As Carlos Gómez says: “This allows us to offer our customers a unique product that bears the Vivla quality label and is accompanied by an additional list of exclusive and personalized services such as excellent interior design, restaurant reservations, babysitting or chef services, among others. .”
The impact of co-ownership
Vivla combines the exclusive service of a boutique real estate agency with the services of a 5 star hotel. “We manage the entire customer life cycle: from finding the home to facilitating the purchase, concierge services and property management during all the years of use, as well as the resale of their exploitation in the future,” says Ivan Rodriguez, adding, “It also makes it easier for groups of friends to buy houses, and even for some of its owners to partially sell the property.”
Reservations are managed by an algorithm that allows a fair distribution between owners in high, medium and low season. Vivla is currently working on an invite-only model and has already started operations in Madrid, Marbella, Sotogrande, Ibiza and Mallorca. It will launch in the Canary Islands, Costa Brava and Costa Blanca over the next few months, as well as rural and mountain destinations.
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