The news comes just under a year since its launch in September 2019. Due to pandemic restrictions, this is Ireland’s first investment transaction completed entirely online.
Pitch meetings, legal document signing and distribution, and electronic payments for the deal were all carried, shared and signed online.
Offr provides “secure and transparent” bidding and transaction technology for the property industry, and enables smartphone transactions with end-to-end digitisation, including payments and signatures.
The platform connects the estate agent to solicitors and banks to digitise the entire end-to-end sale process.
Legal pack
The legal pack is uploaded by the seller's solicitor and downloaded by the bidders' solicitors.
Offr says it removes any issue with fake bidding entirely as all registered offers appear online for both sellers and buyers to see.
Additionally, all bidders’ identities and funds are verified before their offers are accepted, and subsequently published, increasing transparency
Bidders are notified of any new offers on the property. Sellers can track the progress of a sale on their mobile device or laptop, in real-time.
Sellers will be also alerted when an offer is received, if there is an upcoming viewing or if legal documents have been updated.
Proof of funds
Similarly, buyers can book a viewing online, upload proof of funds and ID, make an offer, pay a deposit, connect to their solicitor, and sign contracts – all by smartphone.
The start-up is led by chief executive officer Robert Hoban, chief commercial officer Philip Farrell and chief technology officer Niall Dawson.
Offr’s initial funding target for next-stage development was set at €1 million in February.
By close-of-deal, 30 Irish and overseas investors had transferred €3 million online.
The monies will fund growth of the Irish team and international expansion and brings Offr’s total funds raised to date to over €4 million.
Other investors include Delta Partners (for Bank of Ireland), Enterprise Ireland, Frontline Ventures, and over 20 private investors from the worlds of property, technology and banking.
AMOSS solicitors, and Hogan & Associates chartered accountants, advised on Offr’s first round.
Earlier this year, Offr participated in the Barclays London Accelerator, powered by Techstars, and was selected for follow-on investment, the first by the bank in an Irish-founded company.
Robert Hoban said: “Our target was to raise another million so to treble it in the times we’re in is extraordinary.
“This funding will enable us to grow our Irish team and particularly in a pandemic, we’re delighted to be able to create job opportunities.
Martin Cass of Barclays commented that Ireland is a hotbed for tech innovation and start-ups.
“Offr is another exciting example of that. We are very pleased to be supporting Offr through this exciting period of growth and look forward to working with them to help scale their business internationally and realise their considerable future ambitions.”
During the lockdown period, the global property industry pivoted to online.
Live-stream
Offr launched a three-in-one facility combining 3D virtual property tours with YouTube video playback and live-stream ability, allowing estate agents to do walk-throughs in real-time using their smartphone.
Offr also conducted the world's first digital property transaction during the lockdown, via Sherry Fitzgerald, selling six apartments in an online auction as one lot.
The property attracted 29 bids and sold to the highest bidder at 61% over the reserve price.
Nobody – agent, bidders, buyer, seller or solicitors – left their homes to complete the transaction.
The joint results of that online auction for €580,000, together with another in Dublin 18 valued at €400,000, resulted in a total of €980,000 in sales during early lockdown in the last week of March 2020.
This latest round of funding will enable Offr to launch in both the UK (£417bn market size) and Australia (AU$280bn market size) 12 months earlier than planned.
There are €15bn of property sales every year in Ireland, with all 60,000 transactions happening off-line via paper-based processes, taking on average seven months to complete, from initial listing.
Offr sign-ups get integrated access to DocuSign, Stripe, Onfido, WhatsApp Business, Twilio, Slack, Matterport, EyeSpy360, and Hubspot.
Rostrum autioneer
Chief executive Robert Hoban has worked in the Irish property sector for the past two decades. He was a senior rostrum auctioneer and director of Allsop Ireland. Previously, he was with Savills (formerly Hamilton Osborne King). He completed a law degree by night at Dublin Institute of Technology.
Chief commercial officer and co-founder Philip Farrell is a former chair of the Real Estate Alliance and a former Sunday Independent property columnist.
Australian-born Niall Dawson previously worked with tech entrepreneur Ray Nolan on both XSellco.com and UltimateRugby.com, which is a Brian O’Driscoll and Ray Nolan-backed iPhone and Android app for worldwide rugby coverage.