Breaking Property News 19/11/25
November 19, 2025
Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.
Smart strategic investment underpins new growth
A consortium of investors including Preqin founder Mark O’Hare have acquired a 41% stake in the specialist land acquisition platform, Verafind, which has rebranded from VirginLand by Ringley.
Other investors joining O’Hare include Will Killick and Andrew Pettit, Founding Partners of the £4.5bn (AUM) private equity real estate investment manager Revcap Advisors, and Darryl Flay, co-founder of the Macquarie-backed rental housing investment manager Goodstone Living and a founding figure in UK build-to-rent as an asset class.
Property and asset management company Ringley Group, which co-founded Verafind in 2022 – then VirginLand by Ringley – and helped grow the business, has sold its majority stake to pave the way for investment. It will continue to play an active role to support future growth.
Co-founded by Dan Robinson (Managing Director), Verafind, which includes the likes of Taylor Wimpey, Eon and Wates in its client base, is a technology-led business acting as an outsourced land department for developers, investors and asset owners across all residential and commercial sub-sectors. It also works in infrastructure, with clients in EV, roadside, energy and industrial development.
Verafind – whose team of 15 is headquartered in London and comprises Freddy Hoare (Operations Director) Dan Robinson (Co-Founder & MD) and Charlie Youngs (Co-Founder & Agency Director). It leverages AI, proprietary data and in-house geospatial technology to automate and simplify the process of identifying and acquiring development sites. Its AI-enabled platform identifies sector requirements, lease structures and site potential before engaging and qualifying potential vendors. It recommends acquisition strategies to developers and investors, while delivering viability assessments, planning reports and valuation models.
The consortium’s investment will support Verafind’s next phase of growth, which includes the enhancement of AI capabilities, improved data infrastructure and an expansion into Europe.
Mark O’Hare said: “Land acquisition and planning have always been bottlenecks in the property industry; causing delays and costs for landowners and developers alike – not to mention for our country, which urgently needs more houses. Verafind changes all of that, by streamlining and professionalising the entire process for the benefit of all. I’m excited to be involved with a growing young business that is transforming the property industry – and also from my own experience at Preqin I know how powerful the right data and data-enabled services are in streamlining commerce; and what fantastic businesses they can evolve to be.”
Dan Robinson, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Verafind, said: “This is an exciting strategic milestone for the business that demonstrates proof of concept, where we are leveraging sophisticated technological solutions to unlock a deeply opaque land market. Our new investors recognise that as the AI landscape evolves, there is early mover advantage to be had by backing emerging companies applying it to a part of the real estate market that has always suffered from a lack of innovation.
“The new investment will help us achieve scale at an accelerated pace, enabling us to enhance our existing capabilities in AI, data and modelling, while providing the freedom to build out new products and expand into new geographies.”
Mary-Anne Bowring, Co-Founder of VirginLand by Ringley and Managing Director of Ringley Group, said: “We’ve been on an exciting journey with the Verafind team, incubating the business from a standing start to the successful platform it is today. We’re proud of our achievements to date and the new investment represents the start of a new chapter, and we’re looking forward to continuing our relationship with Dan, Charlie and the team.”
Mehdi Mehra, Group Chairman of Ringley Group, said: “We are proud to have created a lasting land search platform, we welcome the new investors and the broad range of additional expertise they bring, this will undoubtedly accelerate Verafind’s capability to emerge as class leader in data driven site acquisition and look forward to continuing on the Board and working alongside the investor consortium.”
Andrew Stanton Executive Editor – moving property and proptech forward. PropTech-X
You May Also Enjoy
London homebuyers have paid nearly £25bn in Stamp Duty over the last decade
The latest research from Jefferies London shows that, as many await news of potential Stamp Duty reform in the upcoming Autumn Budget, homebuyers across the capital have collectively paid almost £25bn (£24.9bn) in Stamp Duty over the last ten years, with buyers in prime central London contributing the largest share by a considerable margin. Jefferies…
Read More 
Slow maintenance responses are driving tenant anxiety
New research from Adiuvo, the UK’s leading provider of 24/7 property management support, reveals that almost 60% of tenants report feeling increased stress or anxiety as a result of maintenance issues in their rental property, and for most, the lack of landlord action is more stressful than the maintenance issues itself. Adiuvo has surveyed 1,.013…
Read More 
Agent confidence split as housing market braces for Autumn Budget impact
The latest agent sentiment survey from GetAgent.co.uk reveals that, while property market activity has remained resilient through 2025, confidence among agents is now divided as the industry awaits key housing announcements in the Autumn Budget. The survey of estate agents, commissioned by GetAgent, found that whilst cautiously optimistic, there are increasing concerns about external economic…
Read More 
Letting agents to play pivotal role in Renters’ Rights Act rollout
The latest lettings sector insight from Dwelly, one of the UK’s leading lettings acquisition and success planning experts, has revealed that 57% of landlords do not feel prepared for the introduction of the Renters’ Rights Act, with many looking to their letting agent for guidance, highlighting the vital role letting agents will play in helping…
Read More 
Building around railways is organic placemaking
The Government has announced that planning applications for homes around train stations will get a default ‘yes’, and any housing development above 150 homes will require councils to inform government if they are inclined to block applications. Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said: “Building around existing transport infrastructure is…
Read More 
Remortgagers could cover Christmas with savings from lower mortgage rates
The latest research by award-winning mortgage adviser, Alexander Hall, has revealed that those currently approaching the end of their fixed-term mortgage could be in for an early Christmas present, as recent improvements in the mortgage market mean the savings available to them could more than pay for the increased cost of the next three Christmases.…
Read More