PropertyGuru Group Limited announced yesterday (October 17) that it has acquired homegrown home services technology company Sendhelper for an undisclosed amount.
Sendhelper is startup that allows homeowners and tenants in Singapore to easily search and book home services for their daily needs through an app that connects them to verified service providers. This includes cleaning, air conditioner maintenance, handyman and repair services, among other necessities.
It has a network of over 2,000 trained and verified freelancers in Singapore, and users can save time and effort in looking for service providers from multiple providers.
According to a 2021 report of the Department of Statistics in Singapore, households in Singapore have brought in higher incomes over the last 10 years amid a growing trend of married, dual-career couples, which suggests that households will increasingly depend on outsourced help to manage and maintain their homes and home services will be in high demand.
PropertyGuru a one-stop destination for property seekers
With this acquisition, PropertyGuru enters the home services industry with an aim to provide easy and reliable access to home management and maintenance services.
This is line with the Group’s growth strategy of expanding into adjacencies of fintech and data, while investing in its core marketplaces business towards creation of a digital property ecosystem for all its stakeholders in Southeast Asia — property seekers, sellers, agents, developers, banks and valuers.
With the addition of Sendhelper, PropertyGuru.com.sg will become a one-stop destination for property seekers to not only find, finance and own their dream home, but also manage and maintain it.
PropertyGuru’s partners (real estate agents) will also be able to offer home services to their clients (property seekers and landlords) and cater to all their property needs with PropertyGuru — from housing options to home finance solutions and now home maintenance.
According to the company, Sendhelper is a strategic addition with long-term growth opportunities and is not expected to have a material impact on the Group’s 2022 financial results.
“Our entry into home services is an important step as we create solutions that provide guidance and make each step of the property journey more efficient, transparent, and trusted for everyone in the ecosystem – homeowners, buyers, agents, and developers,” said Shyn Yee Ho-Strangas, Managing Director, Data and Software Solutions, PropertyGuru Group.
Following the acquisition, Sendhelper’s team, along with co-founders Rupam Biswas and Bogdan Metehoui, will be joining PropertyGuru.
“PropertyGuru’s vision to meet consumers’ end-to-end property needs resonates deeply with us. Our vision at Sendhelper is to become the one-stop platform for consumers seeking help with property maintenance and home care,” said Rupam, co-founder and general manager of Sendhelper.
“Post-COVID, as more people continue to use online solutions for their daily needs, [and] with PropertyGuru, we aim to effectively digitise the customer journey for home needs. We look forward to co-creating tech solutions that will further ease the home services booking experience and increase users’ access to organised help as opposed to informal or ad-hoc sources.”
Over the coming months, PropertyGuru said that it plans to develop Sendhelper solutions and synergies for their partners.
Moving forward, the Group will also continue to invest in tech-driven solutions that make finding, selling, and owning homes easier for property seekers, homeowners, agents, and developers.
Featured Image Credit: PropertyGuru / Sendhelper
