Following the successful establishment of Nabo in Sweden, Odevo has been launched internationally to challenge the traditional property management industry, with UK-based Rendall & Rittner as one of the group’s founding companies. Since the foundation of the group was laid in 2019, revenue has grown tenfold. Now present in three markets, Odevo is heavily increasing investment in its proprietary tech platform and expanding in the UK as well as the Nordic countries. The group aims to continue to grow at a strong pace, both organically and by adding additional companies within Europe and elsewhere.
Residential real estate is the world's largest asset class and buying a home is usually the largest investment a person makes in their lifetime, yet the residential property management industry has traditionally lagged behind in terms of both digital development and its focus on customers.
Recognising that the industry needs to modernise to meet the needs of today’s leaseholders, Odevo was formed to improve the experience of property management for residents through better technology and customer service. Odevo is a fast-growing international group seeking to challenge the traditional property management industry. In less than three years, the group’s revenue has grown tenfold while remaining committed to excellent level of service. Its foundation was laid in 2019 with the formation of Nabo and the acquisition of SBC in Sweden, and they were joined by Rendall & Rittner in the UK in 2021.
Earlier this year, UK based Premier Estates and Finnish companies MTR and STIO also joined Odevo, making Finland its third marketplace. The group has a combined portfolio of almost 400,000 homes under management and it aims to continue this strong growth trajectory in the years ahead. Together the companies that form Odevo aim to harness the power of people, knowledge and technology to become the leading force in property management and residential services internationally.
“We started Odevo to drive the industry forward and simplify living for people across the world. So far, we have made significant progress in Sweden and the UK and we are now expanding to Finland. At the same time, we are increasing our pace to reach additional markets. The United States is the world’s largest market for property management and so will obviously be one of our main focuses for future expansion, in addition to the markets we’re already present in. Our aim is to increase revenue tenfold again and use our scale to deliver better value and service for our customers”, says Odevo CEO Daniel Larsson.
The companies that are currently part of Odevo offer management services for property owners and residents supported by Odevo's proprietary digital platform. Rendall & Rittner was the first company outside Sweden to join Odevo. As a leading residential managing agent in the premium segment, it has a portfolio of over 80,000 homes across the UK including some of London’s more prestigious and complex buildings. Newly joined Premier Estates manages a diverse portfolio of over 30,000 homes throughout England and Wales with an emphasis on first-class and friendly service. A new customer portal and management platform is being developed for the UK market, supported by the Odevo product development team and Rendall and Rittner customers are due to benefit from this investment later this year.
“The challenges for management companies are very similar all over the world. I am primarily talking about a need for digitalisation, service innovation and the imperative of meeting customers' ever-increasing requirements. All this is against a backdrop of more complex buildings needing more sophisticated maintenance arrangements, as well as increasing regulatory requirements. We are delighted to have become part of Odevo because by teaming up with other great people, we have a much better chance of changing the industry for the better”, says Duncan Rendall, CEO of Rendall & Rittner.
The Odevo Group has approximately 1,300 employees and a turnover of over £120 million. The average growth rate between 2019 and 2021 was 135% per year, of which the organic growth rate in 2021 was about 15%. Odevo plans to continue its strong growth, both organically and by attracting additional companies from Europe and other continents to join the Group, and is already in advanced negotiations with a number of companies in different markets and expects to be present in two more countries in the near future. The group is backed by Swedish investment company Fidelio.
Technology is at the heart of Odevo’s business model. Odevo's platform has been developed over the course of more than 15 years and covers all aspects of management with a real estate system and financial system, along with case, document and contract management systems. Odevo currently has about 40 developers in Sweden and the UK and plans to hire at least 60 more within two years. These digital solutions make everyday life easier for employees who can instead spend more time helping customers. Property owners and residents, in turn, have a customer portal with powerful self-service tools and access to important information.
Johan Tjärnberg, Chairman of Odevo as well as CEO of Trustly and founder of Bambora, both global online payment companies, commented: “A new generation of homeowners all over the world is demanding new and simple digital solutions. To meet these customer needs, large investments in innovation and technological development are required, investments that are hard for an individual management company to justify. As a group, we are able to make these investments and that will put us at the forefront of the industry.”
The companies in Odevo offer traditional management services, but also develop new services and products for both residents and property owners. One example is financial services where SBC became the first to offer its customers market-leading savings interest rates on excess liquidity.
“We are also exploring new areas, such as financial services. The cash flows linked to the properties are enormous and, as managers of these, we can create great value for customers through services like deposits and lending, for example. Insurance is another interesting area to take a closer look at”, says Daniel Larsson.
