London-based Fronted, a startup aiming to make life easier for renters, has raised over £20m in seed financing, led by Fasanara Capital.
Fronted will use the funds to develop a stand-alone app for its members to download. Within the app, renters will be able to use Fronted’s ‘lifetime deposit’ – interest-free moving credit to remove the largest barrier to moving: the cost.
The product works by securing the return of a renter’s old deposit to Fronted and financing the new deposit in full. Users will have 10 weeks to pay off the bridging finance. All – or a portion of which – will be made up from the return of the old deposit.
When a renter moves between properties, Fronted said, there is almost always the need to pay two deposits. The landlord who owns the ‘moving in property’ wants a deposit paid as soon as possible to reduce the risk of an empty home. The ‘exiting property’ landlord wants the money to be available for any deductions after the tenant moves out. On average, deposits are £1,300, and renters have a double deposit overlap of 35 days, Fronted added.
The Fronted app and the lifetime deposit will launch later this year with a small testing cohort. It will roll out across England and Wales in 2022.
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