2 Apr 2024
Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide, NatWest, and Rightmove have jointly invested in Coadjute, a London-based property-focused blockchain technology firm, marking the first collaboration of its kind among the UK's largest mortgage providers.
Lloyds Banking Group leads the investment with £3 million, part of a £10 million funding round aimed at supporting Coadjute's mission to streamline the UK housing market, offering buyers an integrated home buying experience. This investment brings Coadjute's total funding to £23 million since its inception in 2018.
“To play our part in making things as easy as possible for home buyers," said Esther Dijkstra, managing director of intermediaries at Lloyds, "we’ve invested £3 million in Coadjute, who are transforming the house buying process by developing technology which brings everyone involved together securely, so homes can change hands smoothly and quickly and people can start enjoying their new home as soon as possible.”
Rightmove's analysis reveals that it typically takes five and a half months from accepting an offer to completing a transaction, largely due to disjointed processes and closed data systems.
Coadjute aims to transform this by creating a unified network where estate agents, conveyancers, mortgage lenders, buyers, and sellers can securely share standardized data, facilitating quicker exchanges of crucial information such as deeds and financial transactions, regardless of the platform used.
The funding will fuel Coadjute's nationwide expansion and extend its network to include mortgage brokers and lenders. This partnership follows Coadjute's successful collaboration with the Bank of England, HM Land Registry, and the Bank of International Settlements on Project Meridian, aimed at digitizing the property settlement process.