Berlin-based venture capital platform PropTech1 Ventures announced on Friday that it has secured new investment from Belgian construction and property development company BESIX Group.
BESIX says that this move allows it to diversify its efforts and adapt to the changing property and construction landscape.
“Our aim at BESIX is to strengthen our diversification efforts through investments in PropTech startups in order to stay ahead of the curve and position ourselves as an innovative force in the ever-evolving property and construction landscape,” says Dr Ir Thomas Vandenbergh, general manager of BESIX Technology.
Vandenbergh explains that after a thorough evaluation by experts in the European market, BESIX selected PT1 as “the perfect partner” to achieve its strategic goals of increasing “exposure to the best PropTech startups”.
According to him, this collaboration aims to facilitate adaptation and exploration of “new avenues in response to the challenges and opportunities presented by today’s rapidly changing world”.
BESIX Group has a diverse service portfolio, including engineering, civil works, infrastructure and real estate development. It offers services for commercial, residential, industrial and infrastructure projects across various sectors.
BESIX operates globally in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Oceania. As of 2022, the company’s annual turnover reached €3.4B.
PropTech1 Ventures’ recent strategic moves
In addition to BESIX’s recent partnership, PropTech1 Ventures has made noteworthy investments in the real estate industry, including Greenworkx, a climate EdTech startup based in the UK.
Greenworkx’s mission revolves around building a skilled workforce for critical net-zero infrastructure and creating 10 million green jobs within the next decade.
The company also has been enhancing its European network by enlisting accomplished Venture Partners, such as Louise Richnau, a distinguished real estate specialist from Sweden, and Sally Jones, former Head of Strategy, Digital and Technology and member of the Executive Committee at British Land.
PropTech1 Ventures has also received recognition as the leading brand in a market survey conducted by pom+ Germany on PropTech investors’ awareness in the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland).
In January, PropTech1 Ventures announced the first close of its second fund, raising €44M. The fund received backing from several investors, such as Commerz Real, BRUNATA-METRONA Group, evoreal, JLL Spark Global Ventures, Liechtenstein Group, Otto Wulff, Scout 24 Group, Supernova Group, Helaba (the Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen), Schörghuber Group, Halton Ventures and noventic group.
Several entrepreneurs and high-level executives also contributed to the fund. These include the managing director of Cerberus Deutschland Beteiligungsberatung Thomas Wiegand, investor Thomas Zinnöcker and Indevise Group CEO Birgit Rahn-Werner.
PropTech1 Ventures has built an entrepreneurial team based in Berlin and London, with satellite offices across Europe. PT1 specialises in early-stage investments in PropTech, ConstructionTech and UrbanTech startups.
It focuses on the intersection of the real estate industry with energy and infrastructure asset classes. It typically provides initial investments ranging from €0.5M to €3M.
The company has invested in 16 ventures with Fund I. Compared to Fund 1, the VC firm reports that it has experienced a deal flow increase of over 500%.
Read the orginal article: https://siliconcanals.com/news/startups/besix-group-invests-in-proptech1/
