Best Startup
At Best Startup UK we track over 130,000 UK startups and over 500,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United Kingdom based Founder operating in the Real Estate Investment space. If you think a Founder is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.co.uk.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Companies House UK, Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
James Turford
Co-Founder & COO of Nested
James originally trained as an architect at Aedas before moving to McKinsey & Co and then private equity firm PEP.
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About Nested: Nested operates as a data-driven estate agency enabling customers to be chain-free buyers.
Phil Cowans
Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer and Director of Nested
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About Nested: Nested operates as a data-driven estate agency enabling customers to be chain-free buyers.
Daniel Attia
Founder & CEO of YOPA
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About YOPA, YOPA: YOPA provides real estate agency services that assist clients in selling their properties.
Andrew Barclay
Founder of YOPA
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About YOPA: YOPA provides real estate agency services that assist clients in selling their properties.
Arnaud Vinciguerra
Founder/CEO of Domos FS
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About Domos FS, Memnon Archiving Services: Domos FS offers a suite of apps for alternative investment funds including private equity, real estate, debt, and infrastructure.
Anj Latif
Co-Founder and CTO of British Pearl
Anj Latif is one of the founders of British Pearl and is the Chief Technical Officer. He is responsible for the design, implementation and administration of the entire IT infrastructure, including information security. Anj is a highly motivated and ambitious professional with extensive experience in IT management and networking and two decades’ experience in the SME sector. He has worked with companies in retail, legal, manufacturing, finance and health using technologies from Cisco, WatchGuard, Citrix, VMware and Microsoft. He has a BSc (Hons) in Software Engineering from Oxford Brookes University.
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About British Pearl: British Pearl is an online property investment platform facilitating share and loan-based investment in UK property.
Ali Celiker
Founder and CEO of British Pearl
Ali Celiker is the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of British Pearl. He is an experienced financial professional and entrepreneur and has spent the last 19 years in financial services. He thrives on building innovative businesses with inspirational people and is principally interested in the alternative finance market , with a focus on equity and debt based collective investment platforms. Prior to establishing British Pearl Ali worked within the global capital markets as a trader and sales person. This included Vice President, Head European Financing Trader at Paloma Securities London Limited and Associate Director, Interest rates sales trader at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities International plc. He has also worked for BNP Paribas, J.P.Morgan and Martins Brokers (UK) PLC. He holds a BA (Hons) in Economics and Econometrics from Kent University and other banking related professional qualifications.
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About British Pearl: British Pearl is an online property investment platform facilitating share and loan-based investment in UK property.
David Toplas
Founder and Director of Vesta Property
David has a long track record of innovation in investments which balance social and commercial returns. He has created, built and invested in businesses and run institutional funds as well as established a charity and social enterprise. David enjoys his work, cars and playing hockey.
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About Mill Group, Vesta Property: Vesta (www.vestaproperty.com) is a data-driven marketplace for buying and selling residential investment property.
Kevin Taylor
Chairman & Founder of McLaren Construction Group
Kevin Taylor is the Executive Chairman and Founder of the McLaren Group, which he established in 2001.
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About McLaren Construction Group: McLaren Construction Group operates companies in the construction and property industry.
Nitin Aggarwal
CEO, Founder of Property Deals Insight
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About NY Cloud Solutions, Property Deals Insight: A Proptech company that empowers users to make Smart hassle free property investment decisions with a click of a button
Bilal Khan
CTO and Co-Founder of Skwire
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About Apply.Property, Skwire: Skwire provides an online tool to manage and acquire real estate investment.
Alexandre Fitussi
Co-Founder and CEO of Beanstock
Alexandre Fitussi is the Co-founder and CEO at Beanstock.
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About Beanstock: Beanstock is an online real estate marketplace for buying, managing and selling rental investment properties in Europe.
Mark Croston
Founder & Managing Director of Propeasy
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About Propeasy: Propeasy provides assistance to people interested in property investments.
Gabor Futo
Founder and Co-owner of Futureal Group
At the heart of our success is our team of over 500 top professionals, many of whom have been with us for over a decade and have worked together to develop themselves, Futureal and our projects. We have been through normal times, mad times and bad times, always staying together as a strong team, always living up to our values and our reputation. We are looking forward to expanding our team with the best people and the best professionals.
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About Futureal Group: Futureal are into development and investment in real estate.
Hasham Ullah
Managing Partner & Founder of White Lion
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About GymCraft, White Lion: White Lion provides consultation services and solutions for the investment industry.
Lucy Sharp
Co-Founder & Chief Communications Officer of Dot Residential
Over 15 years’ experience managing the PR strategies of major tech, finance and fashion companies, most recently Lucy was Head of PR at the early stage equity fundraising platform Seedrs. Prior to that Lucy was the UK PR Manager for Amazon Marketplace, where she also lead the UK launches of Amazon Lending, Launchpad and Tickets.
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About Dot Residential: Turnkey investment properties optimised for short-term rentals
Gray Stern
Founder & CEO of Dot Residential
A New Zealand native with a banking background, Stern founded Dot in 2018. Frustrated with the innate inefficiencies of the property market, Dot’s mission is to decouple housing from bureaucracy using intelligent processes. Gray previously co-founded Landbay, a fast-growing marketplace lender that provides mortgage finance to the UK’s private rented sector.
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About Dot Residential, LANDBAY: Turnkey investment properties optimised for short-term rentals
Frederick Bristol
Founder of Brickowner
Founder at Brickowner.
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About Brickowner, Bristolestates: UK property investment platform
Tim Orme
Co-Founder of CRUDO Ventures
FinTech entrepreneur & CEO leading growth and development in private banking and tech startups. Non-exec and adviser to FinTech and other exciting companies looking to scale up. Focused on strategy, management and innovation.
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About CRUDO Ventures, French Elm Advisors: Real estate deal making and advisory services for investors, developers and private individuals.
Mani Khiroya
Co-Founder & Investment Director of Propio
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About Propio: Propio is a crowdfunding platform that brings together investors property firms seeking funding for development.
Tom Buttress
Co-Founder & Managing Director of Propio
Tom is Propio’s day-to-day lead and is involved in all strategic and operational aspects of the business. An expert in building, improving and re-orientating regulated financial services firms, Tom previously worked as a management consultant advising household names such as Barclays, Bank of England, Aviva, FCA and T. Rowe Price. He holds a BA from Oxford University.
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About Propio: Propio is a crowdfunding platform that brings together investors property firms seeking funding for development.
Shahil Kotecha
Co-Founder & Investment Director of Propio
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About Propio: Propio is a crowdfunding platform that brings together investors property firms seeking funding for development.
Parul Scampion
Co-Founder & Investment Director of Propio
Parul Scampion (MSc Public Policy and Administration 1992) is part owner and Chief Operating Officer of Fruition Properties, a London based SME property developer. Having supported the Annual Fund since 2015, Parul recently donated to the Department of Geography and the Environment to support research into the causal impact of the UK government’s Help to Buy policy on residential construction.
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About Propio: Propio is a crowdfunding platform that brings together investors property firms seeking funding for development.
Eric Tomaszewski
Founder / Managing Director of Itoma Lux
Eric Tomaszewski is the Founder & Managing Director of Itoma Lux. He founded Itoma Lux in 2017 after 10 years of corporate experience with companies like Ocado, Magna Exteriors and Magna Interiors, Ishida Europe Ltd, and Kimberly-Clark.
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About Itoma Lux: We enable PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT with FINANCE and then de-risk it and increase chances of commercial success with MARKETING & SALES solutions.
Andrew Dunn
Co-Founder of CapitalRise
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About CapitalRise: CapitalRise is a Property Investment Platform.
Uma Rajah
Co-Founder & CEO of CapitalRise
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About CapitalRise: CapitalRise is a Property Investment Platform.
Alex Michelin
Co-Founder of CapitalRise
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About CapitalRise: CapitalRise is a Property Investment Platform.
João Marques Lima
Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Data Economy
Fluent in English, Portuguese and Spanish, João’s a hot-shot technology reporter currently serving as founding editor of Data Economy, part of BroadMedia, a Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC company. In 2019, he won the PPA 30 Under 30 award which shines a light on the outstanding efforts and achievements of the rising stars in consumer magazines and business media. At Data Economy, he manages the title across online, print, broadcast and events. João’s work has taken him around the world, reporting from locations in North America, APAC, Africa and all over Europe. With a deep interest in news, current affairs and history, prior to founding Data Economy, João experienced the reporting industry at Computer Business Review, the Daily Mail – where he delved into the investigation of five London-based Portuguese ISIS jihadists-, Channel 4 News, Channel 4, The Guardian, Antena Lusa, Future Behind and the Holloway Express. Specialised in the fields of IT infrastructure, data centres, IoT, AI, cloud and data, he has interviewed some of the world’s technology leaders and has delivered on several exclusives. At Data Economy, João manages the publication and is responsible for the majority of the editorial content. He has ranked 28 in the ‘Top 100 IoT Influencers of 2016’, ranked 28 in the ‘Top 100 M2M Influencers of 2016’, ranked 11 in the ‘Top Connected Car Influencers’, and features in the list of ‘IoT thought leaders to watch in the next four years [2016 onwards]’. At the age of just 12, he also founded his school’s newspaper and in 2012 he founded his own platform Corporation News Times International (CNT International), with an edition in English – CNTimes – and one in Portuguese – CNT Diário-, which soon attracted a vast readership worldwide. Between 2014 and 2015, João was the Head of Social Media for a UK parliamentary candidate of the general election’s winning party. João graduated from London Metropolitan University in 2014 with a BA in Journalism.
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About Data Economy: Data Economy brings what data centres have to offer closer to the enterprise and business world of cloud, data and the IoT.
João Marques Lima
Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Data Economy
Fluent in English, Portuguese and Spanish, João’s a hot-shot technology reporter currently serving as founding editor of Data Economy, part of BroadMedia, a Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC company. In 2019, he won the PPA 30 Under 30 award which shines a light on the outstanding efforts and achievements of the rising stars in consumer magazines and business media. At Data Economy, he manages the title across online, print, broadcast and events. João’s work has taken him around the world, reporting from locations in North America, APAC, Africa and all over Europe. With a deep interest in news, current affairs and history, prior to founding Data Economy, João experienced the reporting industry at Computer Business Review, the Daily Mail – where he delved into the investigation of five London-based Portuguese ISIS jihadists-, Channel 4 News, Channel 4, The Guardian, Antena Lusa, Future Behind and the Holloway Express. Specialised in the fields of IT infrastructure, data centres, IoT, AI, cloud and data, he has interviewed some of the world’s technology leaders and has delivered on several exclusives. At Data Economy, João manages the publication and is responsible for the majority of the editorial content. He has ranked 28 in the ‘Top 100 IoT Influencers of 2016’, ranked 28 in the ‘Top 100 M2M Influencers of 2016’, ranked 11 in the ‘Top Connected Car Influencers’, and features in the list of ‘IoT thought leaders to watch in the next four years [2016 onwards]’. At the age of just 12, he also founded his school’s newspaper and in 2012 he founded his own platform Corporation News Times International (CNT International), with an edition in English – CNTimes – and one in Portuguese – CNT Diário-, which soon attracted a vast readership worldwide. Between 2014 and 2015, João was the Head of Social Media for a UK parliamentary candidate of the general election’s winning party. João graduated from London Metropolitan University in 2014 with a BA in Journalism.
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About Data Economy: Data Economy brings what data centres have to offer closer to the enterprise and business world of cloud, data and the IoT.
Mark Aspinall
Founder and Director of Goodholm Finance
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About Goodholm Finance: Goodholm Finance offers an innovative second-charge mortgage solution for first-time buyers in the residential housing market.
Stephen Berridge
Founder of Invite Agents
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About Invite Agents: Invite is a new online platform designed to make the process of finding a trusted estate agent in your area quicker, easier and cheaper.
Russell C. Platt
Founder & CEO of Forum Partners
Russell Platt is the Founder and CEO of Forum Partners.
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About Forum Partners: Forum Partners is a real estate investment and asset management firm.
Ben Washington
Founder& COO of Homegrown
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About BWCUK, Homegrown: Homegrown is a property crowdfunding platform.
Davin Poonwassie
Co-Founder and Operations Director of Simple Crowdfunding
Davin was first introduced to crowdfunding in early 2013 and he spotted the opportunity that crowdfunding brings. At the end of 2013, Simple Backing, their first property crowdfunding platform focused on Peer to Peer Lending was born. After speaking to their customers, Davin soon realised that there was also a need to provide an Equity option, thus Simple Equity was formed. With a background in data, databases and information technology, Davin is well suited to this marketplace. Outside of crowdfunding, Davin is a business and property coach, helping others achieve their goals and aspirations. Davin is also a keen property investor, investing in parts of the UK and France.
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About Simple Crowdfunding: Simple Crowdfunding is a regulated peer to peer lending and crowdfunding platform, offering property finance.
Atuksha Poonwassie
Managing Director and Co-Founder of Simple Crowdfunding
Atuksha has been involved in Peer to Peer Lending and Crowdfunding since 2013. She is a Director of the UK Crowdfunding Association, and regularly engages with policymakers and Government to advance this marketplace for all sectors in the UK. Atuksha is also the 2017 national Venus ‘Influential Woman of the Year’ award winner and is recognised in the P2P Finance News’ 2020 and 2021 Power 50, making the top 10 cut. This list highlights the 50 most influential people in P2P. Being a firm believer in building a strong community and customer base, Atuksha uses her expertise to help property professionals raise finance, build a crowd, and stand out in the market, whilst providing better access to the UK property market to everyone.
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About Simple Crowdfunding: Simple Crowdfunding is a regulated peer to peer lending and crowdfunding platform, offering property finance.
