The AI-native property manager has raised €5 million to fund further growth, following two initial acquisitions.
Project management software is not new, and neither is layering it with AI. However, after 21 years as a property manager, Sebastiaan Murre realised this is exactly what Belgium's property management sector needed. The industry is notoriously complex and operationally intensive, with teams spending countless hours managing emails, invoices, contracts, case files and everything in between on a daily basis. With more than a million apartments’ management distributed among only a couple hundred property management offices, the industry is “constrained by human capacity and chronically underserved by technology”, observes Entourage Ventures, which led the funding round together with Green Park Investment Partners, CNBB Equity Partners and Angel Invest.
Moreover, in Europe, millions of homes sit in homeowners associations, and someone has to manage them. “Today, that someone is drowning,” reveals Sebas co-founder, Michiel Janssen. “Property management companies spend most of their day on admin: chasing invoices, re-typing meeting notes, answering the same question for the fifth time. Repetitive work that software should have taken over years ago.”
This is exactly the problem Sebastiaan, Michiel and their fellow co-founders – Willem Van de Mierop and Vincent Janssen – set out to solve when they started Sebas a year ago, bringing the same “builder’s mindset” they used to grow and eventually sell Oko. “There comes a time in every profession when you know: this is in need of renewal,” admits Sebastiaan. “Our software now really takes over the repetitive work… leaving time for where a syndic makes a difference; a board that is stuck, a file that requires an explanation, or a co-owner who just wants to be heard.”
Green Park Investment Partners echoes this as the reason it is supporting the funding round: “We see a lot of potential in the intersection of digitalisation and operations, not just selling software but delivering great services directly to customers with the use of proprietary technology.”
Instead of selling their software to the property managers, Sebas folds syndic firms directly into its system. This M&A strategy is how it plans to change the management of apartment buildings and maintain a commercial advantage over future competitors. “The team knows this industry from the inside, and it shows in how fast they are moving,” notes Angel Invest partner, Connor Murphy.
“Two years ago, I was writing code that helps blind people cross the street safely. Today, I'm writing code that makes sure a building's problems get handled before anyone has to ask twice,” Vincent comments on the evolution. “As the one building the AI underneath it all, watching it handle thousands of real cases for real buildings and real people every day is the best kind of proof that it works.”
Taking over the industry, respectfully
The two acquisitions that accompany the funding will add 350 homeowners associations (roughly 10,000 apartment units) across five Flemish provinces to the Sebas portfolio, with more acquisitions expected to follow suit.
Will explains that they are specifically looking for property management firms with the same builder’s mindset – that have built a successful company through hard work, personal relationships, excellent service and deep expertise – and are considering succession or simply looking for a reliable partner to take over. “Someone who shares your appreciation for the profession, brings experience and understands the challenges of the sector: from digitalisation to the persistent shortage of skilled workers,” he describes Sebas.
“We take over with respect for what you have built: your team, your clients and your reputation.”
This usually happens over five steps:
1. Confidential introduction – an open conversation, completely discreet and without any obligation – during which the property management firms can share their story, wishes and preferred timeline.
2. During appraisal and approval, Sebas analyses the property management firm’s portfolio and provides a transparent valuation, “clearly substantiated, without fine print”.
3. Sebas drafts an agreement tailored to the property manager’s specific demands – they determine the pace and role they play in the next chapter of their company.
4. Sebas manages communication with the relevant owners’ associations, teams and suppliers in a way that is “legally sound, with guaranteed continuity for every client”.
5. Once the takeover is complete, “employees keep their positions, customers gain modern service and the business’s reputation is further built upon, not erased”.
Ultimately, by acquiring the very firms they aim to modernise, Sebastiaan, Michiel, Willem and Vincent are selling much more than software integration; they are renovating the property management profession from the inside out.
