Meet the 19-year-old boss of Edinburgh student rental platform that's just raised £470,000

A teenager who helped set up a student rental platform has become its chief executive following a successful six-figure fundraising.

Jamie Stewart, 19, takes up the top post at Student Rents, an Edinburgh-based software as a service (SaaS) rental platform, after the fledgling venture sealed a £470,000 CrowdCube seed funding round. He steps up from chief brand officer and replaces his father Grant MacCusker, who becomes non-executive chairman, as the company prepares for major growth on the back of the investment. The pair founded the business two years ago, establishing the rental platform to allow accommodation providers across the UK to advertise properties, students to find them and to manage tenancies.

Student Rents was named best student accommodation rentals platform 2022 by IT Awards & UK Enterprise Awards after matching 11,000 students to accommodations last year - with that number expected to jump to 30,000 in the next 12 months. Stewart was a finalist for young entrepreneur of the year in Scotland at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards last year and has been shortlisted for digital start-up 2023 at next month’s Start-up Awards Scotland.

MacCusker said: “It is the right time for Jamie to step up after being under my wing for two years. He has built up a strong contact list of agents and has grown a team to support him. It was therefore the right time for me to become the chairman of the company as a non-executive director, and Jamie to take on the role of chief executive. There have been challenges working together as father and son but it has been very rewarding. It’s now time to kick on with a fresh impetus.”

The new chief executive, who will oversee eight members of staff, added: “We have both been in senior roles since founding the company and this was the next obvious stage in its development. It’s a big opportunity and a big responsibility as the business is growing really quickly. After our successful fundraise we both agreed the time was right for the restructure and the brand would benefit from having someone who understands students’ struggles well and the current marketplace.”