UAE PropTech start-up Huspy to acquire two mortgage brokers

Move will help the start-up to enhance the process of securing a mortgage using technology

Huspy's founders Khalid Ashmawy, front left, and Jad Antoun, front right, with their executive team. Antonie Robertson / The National

Property technology start-up Huspy, which raised $37 million in June, agreed to acquire UAE-based mortgage brokers — Just Mortgages and Finance Lab — to strengthen its portfolio.

The financials of the transactions were not disclosed.

The founders and employees of both companies will join Huspy, the PropTech company said on Tuesday.

The acquisitions will help it to “enhance the processes of getting a mortgage with technology, as well as provide home buyers with market-leading financing offers”, the company said.

Founded in August 2020 in Dubai, Huspy aims to simplify the process of buying homes by helping clients to search through verified listings and find financing solutions.

It seeks to serve as a link between potential property buyers and commercial banks, as well as other lending entities in the UAE.

The platform finds mortgage plans that fit users' needs and obtains pre-approvals from banks.

With Huspy mortgages, customers can receive an initial quote within 30 seconds, compared with several days for the offline process, said the company.

Mortgage transactions in Dubai in the second quarter of this year were relatively flat, compared with the same period last year.

There were 4,823 mortgage deals recorded between April and June, compared with 4,742 transactions in the same period in 2021, Mortgage Finder reported.

The overwhelming majority of mortgage transactions are by first-time home buyers, the consultancy found.

“The addition of these two businesses [Just Mortgages and Finance Lab] will create further benefits for homebuyers in the UAE,” said Ankit Shah, head of mortgages ad mergers and acquisitions at Huspy in the UAE.

“Within the last 18 months of our co-operation, they not only proved to be knowledgeable business partners, but also reliable people with a great mindset and cultural fit for Huspy's values.”

In January, Huspy acquired Home Matters, a Dubai-based mortgage and property consultant, for an undisclosed sum.

In April last year, it also raised an undisclosed sum in a funding round led by Athens-based Venture Friends.

Huspy is currently “well financed to support [its] business goals for the foreseeable future” and is not looking to raise new capital in the near term, co-founder and chief executive Jad Antoun told The National earlier this month.

“With our foundations established, we are now entering a new phase of growth, with a focus on healthy unit economics and low cash burn,” he said.