REA Group (ASX: REA) has revealed its strategic investment in Melbourne-based fintech company, CampaignAgent, during the announcement of its half-yearly results. CampaignAgent offers a Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) solution for marketing property sales through its product VPAPay.
Founded in 2017 by Shaun Moriarty and Seth Watts, CampaignAgent has successfully raised over $30 million in funding. In 2020, the company secured an $80 million warehouse funding facility. Within just two years, CampaignAgent has facilitated over 85,000 property vendors through its platform, which is utilized by over 7,000 agents. Remarkably, one in every five properties listed in the Australian market employs CampaignAgent.
As part of the investment, Janelle Hopkins, the CFO of REA Group, will join the board of CampaignAgent alongside recently appointed chairman David Hackett, the former MLC Life boss. Shaun Moriarty and Seth Watts, who possess backgrounds in property and finance, came up with the concept for CampaignAgent while vacationing together six years ago. They remain the largest shareholders in the company.
Moriarty, the CEO of CampaignAgent, expressed enthusiasm regarding the investment from REA Group, stating that it will support the company’s immediate growth plans and product roadmap. He also acknowledged the significance of partnering with a highly respected industry leader like REA Group and views it as the beginning of CampaignAgent’s next phase of expansion.
Owen Wilson, CEO of REA Group, expressed admiration for CampaignAgent’s progress, citing their advanced technology integration within the real estate ecosystem and their leading position in the market.
REA Group has recently been actively investing in startups. In December, they acquired a 17.9% stake in Realtair, a proptech platform that simplifies the property appraisal to settlement process for agents through mobile technology. Last week, REA Group further increased its holding to 19.9% with an aggregate investment of $7.3 million.
In a statement to the ASX, REA Group highlighted that the combination of Realtair and CampaignAgent, along with their existing agent promotion products, enables them to offer a market-leading solution to assist customers in securing their next listing.
As one of the top 5 tech stocks on the ASX, REA Group reported a 2% decrease in revenue to $430.4 million for the half-year ending December 31, 2020. However, operating expenses declined by 13% to $145.8 million, resulting in a 9% increase in EBITDA to $290.2 million. Net profit also rose by 13% to $172.1 million. As a reflection of their performance, REA Group declared an interim dividend of 59 cents per share, a 7% increase.
REA Group’s share price experienced a rise of over 3% to $159.50 in morning trade following the announcement.
