Dwelly secures $170 million to transform UK letting agencies into software solutions.

      The London startup is acquiring independent lettings companies and integrating them into an AI platform, with EQT Growth leading the equity investment and Trinity Capital providing the debt financing. The lettings industry in the UK still relies heavily on phone communications, paperwork, and the tedious process of arranging boiler repairs, and Dwelly is confident that much of this can be transitioned to software.

      The London-based startup recently raised $170 million in a Series B funding round, which consisted of $95 million in equity and a $75 million debt facility. The funds will be used to acquire independent lettings agencies and shift them onto its AI platform that manages daily operations. EQT Growth spearheaded the equity investment, with participation from General Catalyst, s16vc, Begin Capital, and DVC, as well as several angel investors who are prominent figures in European AI.

      The CEOs of Legora, Synthesia, and ElevenLabs invested, along with Philipp Freise, a partner and co-head of European private equity at KKR. Trinity Capital provided the $75 million in debt. The startup did not disclose its valuation.

      Dwelly positions itself as an AI-native operating system for lettings and property management, adopting a unique roll-up strategy. Instead of merely aggregating agencies for increased scale, it purchases independent firms and integrates them onto its proprietary software, which manages communication between tenants and landlords, coordinates maintenance, processes rent collections, and ensures compliance.

      The current trend in proptech is consolidation, with innovations ranging from robotic listing cameras to CoStar's $800 million acquisition of Zonda, although few competitors have attempted to acquire agencies outright. According to the company, its value proposition is enhanced productivity. Dwelly claims to manage over 15,000 properties with a £350 million rent roll, asserting that this positions them as a top-10 agency in the UK, stating that its agents manage upwards of 300 units each, roughly three times the 100 units a typical manager oversees.

      These figures are based on Dwelly’s own reporting rather than independent audits, making them more indicative of ambition than concrete achievement, but the overall trajectory is clear. The startup was founded by Ilya Drozdov, Dan Lifshits, and Dmitry Khanukov, who have extensive experience from Uber, Gett, and McKinsey before entering the UK rental market.

      “Dwelly is AI-first by default: we believe AI should be able to handle every operational task,” said Drozdov, the CEO. This fundamental belief, instead of any particular feature, is the primary focus of the funding round.

      For tenants, the major benefit is speed. Zeynep Yavuz-Willson from General Catalyst described Dwelly’s offering as “a question answered in seconds,” a significant pitch in a market where delayed responses to repair requests can lead to prolonged periods without heating or hot water.

      Proving a reduction in response times, rather than any singular acquisition, is essential for the software, as it represents one of the most challenging aspects for existing companies to automate. The new funding will be allocated in three areas, according to the company: further development of the AI platform, additional acquisitions, and an expanded range of products for landlords and tenants, including legal protections, rent guarantees, financing solutions, and a marketplace for contractors.

      The debt line is also crucial, as it allows Dwelly to continue acquiring agencies without having to dilute its equity with each purchase. This approach reflects the trend of agentic software moving into the less glamorous sectors of real estate, where tasks tend to be repetitive and profit margins have traditionally been narrow.

      It has been a rapid year for the startup; the Series B funding comes just five months after a $93 million Series A in February, bringing the total raised to over $260 million in less than a year.