JLL is expanding its reach to find the most disruptive commercial real estate technology to Europe, the Middle East and Asia through a partnership with UK -based Concrete VC.
The global brokerage services firm announced yesterday that JLL Spark, its ?$100 million Proptech investment arm, is partnering with U.K. investment advisor, Concrete VC, to find the most relevant startups in the PropTech sector.
JLL Spark which has made significant investments PropTech companies Dealpath, Jones, Hubble, Skyline AI, Honest Buildings, HqO and Vergesense stated Concrete VC will help identify investment opportunities and deploy capital to companies that will positively impact their respective markets.
?We?re looking forward to increasing our investment in Europe and connecting those startups with the customers and resources they need to grow and scale in commercial real estate,? stated Mihir Shah, co-CEO of JLL Spark, who underscored the role of that Concrete VC’s team has played in helping to identify promising new startups.
With the recent influx of investment from private equity firms like SoftBank and others which are flowing capital to global PropTech companies, interest from CRE brokerages to invest in the EMEA region is rapidly expanding.
According to a recent report by CREtech, nearly 80% of investment funding in PropTech last month went to mid to late-stage global startups.
The two firms recently invested in Hubble, an online platform for flexible office space in the UK.
JLL Spark, led?the $5.2 million Series A funding round for Hubble, a London-based tech platform that matches office users with coworking tenants like WeWork and IWG. According to Shah, co-working will account for nearly 30% of all corporate portfolios by 2030.
As a part of the new partnership, Concrete VC will evaluate commercial real estate technology startups on JLL Spark?s behalf to determine the best fit for the company?s business needs and could benefit from a cash infusion.
?We?re thrilled to partner with the biggest players in the commercial real estate industry to expand our influence in Proptech. Joining forces with JLL Spark to lead operations in EMEA is a momentous occasion. By combining our networks and partners, we have access to the most promising startups out there,? stated Taylor Wescoatt, founding partner of Concrete VC.
Concrete VC?s Corporate Advisory Group consists of nine global leaders in the real estate sector, including JLL, Seedcamp, flex workspace firm FORA, Lockton Insurance Group, Clifford Chance and Nuveen. The company acts as an investment partner to other large real estate players, Starwood Capital and London-based development giant U+I.
