Castle One, a proptech venture builder has announced investment into HL Hall and Sons Holdings in a significant funding round aimed at unlocking new, aimed at benefiting the real estate industry locally and internationally.
The founders of Castle One are Jonothan Rawson and Mark Forrester have been active in proptech since 2018. The venture building group has invested in several real estate technology companies among them Prop Data led by Mark Buttress (a sector veteran).
Rawson reveals that the investment into Castle One shall enable the group to accelerate its innovation platform that relies on blockchain technology, in turn transforming the business of rental professionals – while reducing costs.
Halls is a family business in operation for over a century. The company has local and international holdings spread across several sectors from data analytics to property investment and pharmaceuticals. Among its portfolio companies is Lightstone that provides information, valuation, and research to the financial, property, and motor vehicle industries.
Rawson is the previous co-founder of the SA tutoring platform Teach Me 2. On the other hand, Forrester was one of the co-founders of the e-commerce and web creation platform WooCommerce. The duo partnered to form Castle One that powers millions of online stores worldwide. South Africa’s proptech space has attracted significant investment in the past few years.
Pete Backwell, Halls CEO has offered a unique model that attracts investment from various role players. He described the investment as “strong shared values and a common vision.”
Source: Property wheel
