My Property Boutique plans expansion with $4 mn raise

Real estate startup My Property Boutique is in talks with a few investors to raise up to USD 4 million (about Rs 27.50 crore) in its first round of funding for expansion.

The company currently has three boutiques or retail showrooms in Chennai and Bengaluru where properties of various real estate developers are put on display for prospective buyers. The fourth one at Coimbatore would be opened in the next three months.

The Chennai-based firm, an online and offline real estate aggregator, was co-founded by Neelesh Bora and Karthikeyan Kumar. Before starting their new venture, both had worked for leading property consultant JLL India.

"In last 18 months of our operations, we have received a good response from developers as well as customers. Now we want to open 100 such boutiques or expo centres across the country in the next three years," Bora told PTI.

"We are in discussions with few investors to raise our first round of funding. We are looking to raise up to USD 4 million for our expansion plan," Bora said.

The company started this venture based on the retail structure.

"The reason why people visit major retail outlets is because they can find all major brands under one roof and then pick and choose what they want to buy. This is the basic idea that facilitates the working of My Property Boutique. The company offers all builders under one roof, and is open 365 days," said Karthikeyan.

My Property Boutique provides homebuyers with end-to-end support, including the loan process and property documentation.

Asked about the revenue model, Bora said: "It's like any classifieds business. We earn revenues through listing of properties in our showrooms and portal. We do not charge any money from customers."

He said the company posted a revenue of Rs 3 crore during last fiscal and is targeting to more than double it to Rs 6.5 crore in 2018-19.

My Property Boutique has taken on lease about 8,400 sq ft of area for its three existing showrooms. The biggest one is at a mall in Chennai where about 100 properties are on display of nearly 50 builders.

"We open our retail expo centres either in an IT park or shopping mall," Bora said. The company currently employs about 30 people, including real estate experts, who are available at all the stores to help buyers.