Former Chainbow owner Roger Southam has returned to the residential letting market launching a new technology platform called Cohab.
Southam, who founded Chainbow in 1989 and sold it to Savills in 2016, has teamed up with Canadian tech-entrepreneur Saveli Kotz to launch Cohab.
The company claims its technology platform “delivers operational efficiencies and drives down costs”, the benefit of which is passed on to the landlords with a flat 6% fee.
Cohab is aiming to have more than 100 properties on its books within the next two months and it is targeting 1,000 units in its first year with the goal of adding 30,000 units in the next two to three years.
The company has initially been doing deals with landlords on single units and blocks of flats, but it intends to target major build-to-rent landlords over the next couple of years.
Southam said: “This is just what the residential lettings market needs. For far too long residential landlords have had to put up with exorbitant lettings fees from property agents that can be as high as 20% once tenant finding, management, contract preparation and referencing fees are taken into account.
“Saveli Kotz’s technology team has created an excellent and innovative software platform together with US-style efficient property show round techniques that drive efficiencies and allow us to disrupt the market with our 6% all-in fee.”
Kotz added: “We found the lettings agency service in London to be seriously lacking and I decided that with my background in creating online businesses and then successfully selling them that this would be my next venture where I could drive business efficiencies and disrupt the market with a 6% all-in management and letting fee.”
