PropertyGuru secures SG$200m funding, aims to double down on SEA

PropertyGuru Group has secured approximately SG$200 million in Series D funding, offering the company momentum to continue its position as a high-growth technology company in the region. It will continue to invest in technology and bring solutions that benefit home seekers, real estate agents and property developers.Meanwhile, PropertyGuru also consolidated Vietnamese portal Batdongsan.com.vn into the group, underscoring its commitment to the country. Its collaboration with Batdongsa.com.vn began in 2016. The group currently has 55% market share in Southeast Asia and is present in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. The latest funding round was led by global investment firm KKR.Marketing has reached out to PropertyGuru for additional information on whether part of the investment will be used for marketing.PropertyGuru Group's CEO, Hari Krishnan, said the company has been impressed with Batdongsan's "strong market leadership" fuelled by delivering great value to the Vietnamese property sector."We look forward to making our regional expertise fully available to Vietnamese property seekers as well as to help the country’s real estate industry benefit from ASEAN integration," he said.Lê Xuân Trường, Batdongsan founder and managing director, said, “Batdongsan and PropertyGuru Group have had a long-standing partnership and we are very pleased to cement that today as PropertyGuru invests further in the business. Batdongsan continues to be the market leader in Vietnam. We are proud of what we have achieved to date and are excited about the next phase of Batdongsan’s growth as it becomes part of Southeast Asia’s leading online property group."Earlier this year, the group refreshed its brand after a decade, to transition from regional property media powerhouse to a high-growth technology company. This included a new brand identity and logo, as well as a brand campaign.Group CMO Bjorn Sprengers told Marketing then that when the company was launched in 2007, its vision was to simplify the property search process and help renters, buyers, sellers and investors make confident property decisions – faster. As such, the identity that fit with that business focus was one which expressed simplicity. However, today, the brand personality needed to be given a bit more playfulness as more customers are being accustomed to online property.