Student accommodation platform Housr has secured $10m in private financing to fuel product innovation and geographic expansion.
The financing includes strategic participation from Ashta Capital and Juniper Equity, Texas-based private investment firms that invest in growth-oriented operating companies. The partnership “reflects a shared vision to modernise student housing through technology and operational excellence.”
The funding follows a period of hyper-growth including 186% YoY revenue growth for Housr.
“This financing is a powerful validation of our teamʼs vision and the measurable impact weʼre having on the student rental industry,ˮ said Harry Panter, co-founder and CEO of Housr. “The market is rapidly shifting towards demand for an all-in-one, student OS, with the home at the heart of everything, and our platform is uniquely positioned to capitalise on that demand.
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“Ashta Capital’s strategic involvement underscores the strength of our mission and positions us to accelerate growth across key university markets across the US, along with the rollout of new products that will genuinely change the way students rent but also interact with their finances and everything that is not their degree, whilst at university. We aim to service 1,000,000 students across the UK and US within the next 12 months. Our mission is to change student rental, forever.ˮ
The newly secured capital will be deployed across three core strategic pillars: product innovation, talent acquisition and market expansion.
Eric Priamo of Juniper Equity said: “The university market is massive, especially here in the US, but really globally, because that’s where Housr has the opportunity to go. There’s around 4,000 universities in the U.S, so just think about that. That population that Housr can go to and have engaging with the app, and just in Texas alone, there’s probably somewhere between 750,000 to a million students. There’s just a massive market here that you only need to capture a very, very small percentage for it to grow and be incredibly valuable.ˮ
Brandon Snyder, founder of Ashta Capital, cited his first meeting with Housr’s Panter as a key driver in winning his support: “I was immediately struck by his energy and passion for what he was building,” he said. “Harry has a rare ability to clearly communicate his vision and inspire others to join him in achieving it. That clarity of purpose and enthusiasm is what stood out to me from the very beginning.”
