Mortgage fintech Habito lands £35m Series C, becomes B Corp
Habito, a UK-based digital mortgage firm, has landed a £35 million Series C funding round.
The round consists of a Series C equity raise and Series C extension, which is in the form of a convertible loan note.
Habito’s CEO and founder, Daniel Hegarty
The round attracted new investors Augmentum Fintech, SBI Group and mojo.capital. As well as various existing investors, including Ribbit Capital, Atomico and Mosaic Ventures.
The fintech says the round also sees it join the list of firms which have received capital from the UK Treasury’s Future Fund, which Chancellor Rishi Sunak announce in April.
Launched in 2016, Habito has also secured B Corp status. It claims to be the first mortgage firm in the UK to get the accreditation.
Accelerating growth
The start-up’s total investment to date comes to more than £63 million. It says it will use the latest capital injection to “further accelerate Habito’s rapid growth”.
To date, the fintech has helped more than 330,000 customers and submitted more than £4.5 billion worth of mortgages.
It’s taking on the UK’s £1.3 trillion mortgage market by digitising more steps in the home financing and buying process.
Its offering includes proprietary sourcing technology, mortgage products and homebuying services.
Habito’s CEO and founder, Daniel Hegarty, says the “poor service, uncompetitive products and punishing loyalty penalties” that plague the current mortgage market must change.
“The tide is turning on traditional home financing and we’re here to usher in a new future,” says Hegarty.
New products launched this year
In January, the start-up launched its ‘Habito Plus’ product. The homebuying pulls a buyer’s mortgage application, conveyancing needs and surveys into one tool.
Habito claims the service has experienced “monthly growth of more than 50% since its launch”.
Shortly following this launch, Habito launched its broker portal in Febraury. The platform gives more than 3,000 external brokers access to Habito’s buy-to-let mortgage products.
It also gives them access to the fintech’s instant decision technology.
Next on the product roadmap is a market a suite of residential mortgage products designed for all types of homeowners.
“Digital transformation has finally come to the UK mortgage broking and lending industry,” says backer SBI Group’s CEO, Yoshitaka Kitao.
