BidX1 announces strategic growth investments from doValue and Oliver Wyman

BidX1, Europe’s leading digital property investment platform – which operates in the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Spain and Cyprus – today announced strategic growth investments by two new shareholders. doValue, the leading servicer in Southern Europe for loan and real estate management services, and Oliver Wyman, a global management consulting firm, will both acquire minority equity stakes in the Dublin-based PropTech company. 

Oliver Wyman and doValue will join existing investor Pollen Street Capital, a leading London-based private equity firm, and BidX1’s Founder, Stephen McCarthy, as shareholders in the company. 

Pollen Street made a strategic investment in BidX1 in 2018 to accelerate the platform’s international expansion. Both Pollen Street and McCarthy maintain majority stakes in the business. The announcement marks the beginning of another phase of strategic growth for BidX1, whose digital platform provides for end-to-end online property transactions, targeting expansion of its geographical footprint and product offering.

Launching in South Africa in 2018, BidX1’s digital platform has made rapid inroads into the property market locally, and the firm was able to continue to operate seamlessly throughout the Covid-19 lockdowns due to its online sale process. 

Says MC du Toit, CEO of Sales at BidX1 South Africa: “When BidX1 launched in South Africa almost four years ago, the digitalisation of the property industry was only in its early stages. As BidX1 continues to expand and innovate across Europe, I’m delighted that we are also spearheading the digital transformation of the auction industry in South Africa.

“The advantages of transacting property on our platform are clearer than ever – the convenience of being able to register and bid online, the security of the process which ensures there are no fictitious bid, and the transparency, with all bidding shown in real-time.”

Via its global operations, BidX1 has championed an innovative, digital-first approach to property sales, combining established real estate expertise with proprietary technology developed in Dublin. The market leader in online property transactions, the company has sold over 10 000 properties to date, or more than €2.5billion’s-worth of real estate.  

doValue, the leading player in credit management and real estate services for banks and investors in Southern Europe, will acquire a 15% equity stake in BidX1 for a €10m capital injection in the company. Listed on the Italian stock exchange, doValue is the market leader in Italy, the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), Greece and Cyprus, with €160 billion of assets under management. Through this investment, doValue will enter a strategic partnership with BidX1 with the aim of supporting BidX1’s growth as an independent platform.

Meanwhile, Oliver Wyman, an international management consulting firm, will also make an equity investment in the company, acquiring a minority stake of approximately 5%. As part of the agreement, BidX1 will acquire proprietary technology developed by Oliver Wyman; an online platform for the transaction of Non-Performing Loans (NPLs). Coupled with BidX1’s existing platform for real estate transactions, this addition will expand BidX1’s offering for clients and investors, leveraging the company’s deep domain expertise in high-value online transactions.

doValue and Oliver Wyman’s investments will help fund BidX1’s growth strategy by accelerating expansion into new markets where doValue commands a leadership position (namely Italy and Greece), providing access to new technology which complements the firm’s existing expertise (such as the NPLs platform), and supporting BidX1’s continued innovation across the real estate transaction. 

Daniele Della Seta, Head of M&A and Strategic Finance at doValue, and Vicente Vázquez Bouza, Partner in Corporate Finance & Restructuring at Oliver Wyman, will both join BidX1’s board of directors. 

Says Stephen McCarthy, BidX1’s founder: “We are delighted to be partnering with doValue and Oliver Wyman. Their investment validates BidX1’s position as an innovator in the property industry and is a further recognition of the company’s potential for growth. Their expertise will be invaluable as we continue to scale our platform globally, expand our service offering and continue to improve the property transaction process for buyers and sellers.”

Daniele Della Seta, Head of M&A and Strategic Finance at doValue, says: “BidX1 will be an important pillar of doValue’s diversification strategy aimed at investing in high growth sectors with tangible cross selling opportunities with our existing core business. We have been very impressed by the quality of BidX1’s management team and we are confident that they will succeed in disrupting the way real estate transactions are carried out, positively contributing to doValue Group’s operations.” 

Comments Vicente Vázquez Bouza, Partner in Corporate Finance & Restructuring at Oliver Wyman: “We are looking forward to sharing our NPL technology with BidX1 and becoming a shareholder in a company with high growth potential. As NPL and property markets continue moving towards increased liquidity, the value proposition that BidX1 now offers will position it to become the pre-eminent NPL and property platform in Europe.”

Says James Scott, Partner at Pollen Street Capital: “We are thrilled that doValue and Oliver Wyman will be joining forces with BidX1 as strategic investors. As well as the deep expertise of their teams, BidX1 will also benefit from the strategic partnership with doValue and the addition of Oliver Wyman’s NPL platform, which will complement BidX1’s market leading property transaction technology.”