Homebuying ‘disruptor’ secures £8m fundraise

A company aiming to “disrupt the conventional homebuying space” has raised £8m in a Series A equity funding round.

Wayhome offers a Gradual Homeownership scheme - a variation on shared ownership - aimed at first time buyers.

Users require a 5% deposit and can put that towards homes already purchased by Wayhome and its investors.

Ownership can then be ‘staircased’ to gain a larger share of equity in the property.

The funding round was led by existing investors Allianz X and Augmentum Fintech as well as new funders Volution, Love Ventures and Cur8 Capital.

The money raised will help fund Wayhome’s aims to  “disrupt the conventional home buying space.”

Part of this strategy will be to forge partnerships with mortgage brokers and lenders.

Wayhome said it currently boasts an annual rate of £100m deployed in customer property purchases and said the fundraise will help the leadership team double this to £200m.

Nigel Purves, chief executive of Wayhome, said: “Due to the way that the Gradual Homeownership model works, the rising interest rates seen since September’s controversial mini-Budget have delivered even greater demand for our product. With the recent ending of the Help to Buy scheme there are now hundreds of thousands of would-be homeowners seeking alternative ways to access the property ladder.

“This significant raise will fuel our ambitions to double the pace at which we can help new homeowners within 12 months.  

“Homebuying has been somewhat traditional for centuries. Our alternative is the best of all worlds as a part buy, part rent proposition that allows our customer to buy their ideal home, in their ideal location, today without waiting for years.”