GO Ventures, in line with its commitment to nurture and retain home-grown talent, has signed an investment agreement with Sqmeterz, an online marketplace for mid- to long-term property rentals.

Sqmeterz is committed to deliver an instant, enjoyable, transparent, and above all affordable experience to those who want to rent a property.

Paul Grech, one half of GO Ventures’ executive team, tasked with the financial analysis and assessment of the strategic viability of proposals, said that, “Perhaps the strongest element that is set to make this new platform successful is that Sqmeterz is guaranteeing low fees for landlords and zero fees to tenants.”

“This,” he continued, "coupled with the innovative way of how the platform is set to disrupt the local rental market, is what attracted GO Ventures to invest in this proposition.”

When GO plc launched its GO Ventures initiative last year, it intended to provide the medium that could help innovative ideas flourish and become tangible realities. “What we never imagined was that we would end up supporting disruptive ideas that can also challenge the status quo of certain long-established sectors,” said Mr Grech, who occupies the role of Senior Manager of Strategy and Insights at GO.

GO plc launched GO Ventures in April 2019 as a €2 million fund aimed at tech start-ups in the fields of artificial intelligence, big data and analytics, internet of things, cybersecurity, blockchain, fintech and other related areas.

“Notwithstanding the current challenges in all markets, there’s a digital revolution out there and our drive remains that of being at the forefront of this revolution. Through GO Ventures, we keep pushing the private sector to remain a protagonist whilst helping to nurture and retain home-grown talent,” said Mr Grech.

Luke Curmi, the brains behind Sqmeterz, said, “There is no doubt that the rental market has been growing rapidly with the proportion of younger tenants, known as Generation Rent, increasing markedly. Renting is not exactly cheap with tenants and landlords bearing a significant share of the total transaction costs.”

He continued, “This is from where I set out and I was determined to do something about it. So together with my father and my brother, we started working on how to change what was a very long established and traditional marketplace. That is how Sqmeterz was conceived,” referring to the origins of his start-up as “a purely family affair”.

Describing what led him to embark on this project, Mr Curmi explained that he wanted to mainly address three current pain points in the local rental market namely the exorbitant fees, the laborious and time-consuming viewings and the lack of transparency.

Tenants using Sqmeterz pay 0% fees and the landlord pays only 25% of the first month rent. In addition, Sqmeterz will provide a Landlord Protection Guarantee whereby in the event that the tenant causes damages to the property in excess of the deposit amount, Sqmeterz will cover the Landlord for up to €250.

Mr Curmi believes this leads to a win-win situation for both the tenant and the landlord.

“With the Sqmeterz online platform we have managed to fill the gap in the market for ‘digital property renting’, a concept that is bound to challenge the current status quo of the rental market – a status quo that is clearly a candidate for disruption,” added Mr Grech.

“This is why through GO Ventures we are supporting start-ups that can change what has been done for years. Sqmeterz is a start-up that also has a strong social purpose – that of reducing the cost of renting a home whilst at the same time also reducing the cost to landlords.”

“By lowering the transactional cost Sqmeterz will help tenants to move to more suitable accommodation. Being actively involved in changing the status quo is our way of bringing disruption. But the majority of start-ups that will succeed are not those that just try to be disruptive but those that bring efficiency and alignment to the market and change the customer experience,” he concluded.