Flyway, a PropTech offering fully managed second home co-ownership, has raised $10 million in seed and debt financing from a number of institutional and angel investors. The proceeds of this round of financing are used to acquire and sell Flyway’s first properties in London. Flyway is led by serial founders who have already left the market, Nikos Drandakis and Sanja Ilic, respectively former CEO/founder and COO of Beat, a taxi transportation app that Daimler has acquired and whose annual turnover has reached $700 million.
Based in London and Athens, Flyway targets the international market for second homes in the city, or “pied-à-terre”. It modernizes the condominium, thanks to its proprietary planning technology and the professional management of the property (cleaning, repairs, maintenance). At the same time, it creates a fluid marketplace to buy and sell shares in second homes in the city.
Investing in one (or more) house(s) Flyway offers an alternative to hotels, rentals and the expensive purchase of a house. Regular travelers choose the property level that fits their budget, stay needs, location, and home type preferences. Each house is converted into a property-specific LTD (limited liability company) with 12 shares. Buyers choose the share they want, for example, a quarter of the house guarantees them stays for a quarter of the year, and Flyway continues to sell the remaining shares to selected buyers.
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Homeowners have access to everything related to their second home through the Flyway app, including booking stays seamlessly, overseeing expenses shared with other co-owners, chatting with their Home Manager, and even unlocking their home from their phone.
Notable investors and lenders participating in the round include Signal ventures, Monday Capital, GroupRMC, as well as PropTech angel investors Florian Hagenbuch and Alex Chatzieleftheriou.
“This is the time when the second home condominium model assimilates to Airbnb, allowing this real estate segment to grow significantly,” said Drandakis, CEO of Flyway. “Flyway removes all the barriers that used to make co-ownership of second homes difficult, such as demand aggregation, property management and organization. We gather and organize the group of owners, manage the legal process and provide the technological tools so that the owners can easily and fairly plan their time. In addition, we manage the house itself. »
“Owning a pied-à-terre is now much more accessible since buyers can acquire between one twelfth and one half of the house, depending on their needs.” Drandakis continued, “This significantly reduces the hassle of owning a property away from your primary residence. And not just any property, but a first-rate property. While respecting your budget. Note that you can resell your shares at any time, via the Flyway marketplace or on the open market, without the need for consensus among the owners. »
In addition to Drandakis and Ilic, the Flyway team includes Leonidas Dakopoulos, with experience in finance in the shipping sector, Emma Gavala, with a successful career in product marketing, and Anton Remnev, with experience as a product and digital transformation manager in the banking sector.
“Flyway is here to democratize the ownership of second homes, a luxury now within the reach of more mobile citizens, who ‘work and play’ in the world’s largest metropolises. Add to this urgent societal issues such as housing accessibility and empty second homes, it is more timely than ever to make full use of these prime real estate assets.
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