Proptech company, Different, suffers same fate as failed builders
The woes besetting the building industry have extended to property management solutions company :Different, which has gone into voluntary administration.
Proptech platform Different Technologies, widely known by its trading name :Different, has entered into voluntary administration just two years after securing a major funding deal with Australia’s largest bank.
An Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) notice published Thursday (29 June) revealed administrators from KPMG had been appointed in a voluntary administration process.
The company offers property technology (proptech) solutions to manage rental properties as a service to real estate agencies.
The colon used as a marketing differentiator in its trading name proved to be insufficient in preventing the company entering into administration under section 436A of the Corporations Act 2001.
A company spokesperson told API Magazine that the company had made the decision to appoint KPMG in a voluntary administration process.
“The leadership shared the below note today (29 June) with the team, the important thing to note is leadership is part of the process, working closely with KPMG, and they are keeping a team on to service all existing customers through the process,” the statement noted.
“This move should not change the service owners and tenants will receive.
“:Different’s team of property partners will continue to be on hand to support customers, and owners and tenants will continue to have access to the apps.”
While faced with a very different operating environment to so many building companies that have fallen by the wayside, the struggles of another major enterprise in the real estate and property sector can only serve to further undermine sentiment in the sector.
The start-up made its first high profile debut in the marketplace in 2017 offering rental payment guarantees to landlords.
The company made headlines in the business media in September 2021 when the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) start-up accelerator division, x15ventures, as well as global venture capital heavyweight Antler, were part of a $25 million capital raising exercise as it embarked on a major national expansion.
Under the deal, CBA and :Different formed a strategic partnership to offer property management services to the bank’s 15 million customers.
By 2022, the company had teamed up with east coast real estate agencies as part its expanded rebranding with :Different for Agencies.
The new service was intended to overcome a property management talent shortage that saw more than 3,000 vacant property manager roles unfilled in Australia.
:Different shares news with staff
An internal note to employees was provided to API Magazine by the company with permission to publish, in which it detailed the challenging business environment with which it was contending.
“While we’ve accomplished so much together, we still require additional funding to complete building and scaling our platform.
“To support these growth efforts, we’ve been working to raise funds and we have not been able to secure enough to continue operating the business as it’s currently being run for any significant period of time.
“I won’t repeat what’s been explained at length in the industry these past 12 months — suffice to say the capital markets for scale-ups at our stage of growth are incredibly challenging right now.
“As you know from our recent updates, we’ve paused all growth and integration efforts on the Different for Agencies product and have been working closely with our partners to enable a smooth transition of management over time.
“KPMG … intend to commence an orderly sale of Different’s assets and intellectual property. “They plan to continue supporting the owners and tenants with high quality services.
“We launched :Different in 2017 to completely rebuild Australia’s property management industry.
“Our mission was to take care of homes and the people in them, with technology and people working hand in hand.
“The property sector is so important to the economy and life here, but we believe it can be even better.
“This mission is as vital as it ever was, and that we will work closely with KPMG to give what we have built the best chance of having an ongoing positive impact,” the internal note from management read in part.
