DJ Alexander secures £7m to bolster new digital venture

Edinburgh-based property firm DJ Alexander has secured a seven-figure funding package that will be used to launch what it says is the first full-service online landlord and tenant management system of scale.

DJ Alexander describes itself as the largest independent property letting agency in Scotland. Picture: Jon Savage.

The business, which was founded by David Alexander in 1982, has netted the £7 million sum from Santander UK. The property firm is preparing to debut online property business Apropos, which it expects to create “substantial” new job opportunities across the UK in coming years.

DJ Alexander said it is looking to harness the increasing trend for digitisation, and will use the growth capital funding package to launch Apropos, a fully integrated online property-management portal, to extend the reach of its regional residential property letting business nationwide.

The property firm is expecting to launch Apropos in January 2020, after last month announcing that the venture’s leadership team had been boosted by the addition of Brenda Ross – who has worked with the likes of Virgin, Levi Strauss, and 20th Century Fox – as marketing director.

'Were excited about our future,' says David Alexander. Picture: Laurence Winram Photography.

The property firm says it is the largest independent property letting agency in Scotland, with more than 4,000 rental properties under management, mainly in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

It also provides full estate agency, property investment, maintenance and conveyancing services.

Support

The finance was provided by Santander’s structured finance growth capital team. The finance is a type of investment provided in order to support small and medium-sized enterprises with growth plans or expand into new products and markets.

David Alexander said: “We’re excited about our future and look forward to working closely to continue to grow our business.”

Richard Mathison, structured finance director at Santander UK, also commented: “We have been working with DJ Alexander over the past ten months to understand their growth plans and to deepen our knowledge of their business and the opportunities available with the launch of the new online platform Apropos. We look forward to supporting the business and its future ambitions.”

Santander UK last month reported falling profits in the first nine months of the year. Pre-tax profits at the Spanish-owned lender fell 43 per cent to £785m, as it took a £169m charge from payment protection insurance.