PropertyGuru acquires Sendhelper, enters home services arena

PropertyGuru Group said it has acquired Sendhelper, a Singapore home services technology company. With this acquisition, PropertyGuru enters the home services industry with an aim to offer home management and maintenance services.

Sendhelper is a start-up that lets homeowners and tenants in Singapore to search and book home services for their daily needs via an app that connects them to verified service providers. The services include cleaning, air conditioner maintenance, and handyman and repair services, among other necessities.

Sendhelper’s network has over 2,000 trained and verified freelancers in Singapore.

With the addition of Sendhelper, PropertyGuru’s partners (real estate agents) will also be able to offer home services to their clients (property seekers and landlords). The acquisition, said PropertyGuru in a news release, is not expected to have a material impact on the Group’s 2022 financial results.

According to a 2021 report of the Department of Statistics in Singapore, households in Singapore have brought in higher incomes over the last 10 years amid a growing trend of married, dual-career couples, which suggests that households will increasingly depend on outsourced help to manage and maintain their homes, and thus, home services is expected to be in high demand.

Shyn Yee Ho-Strangas, Managing Director, Data and Software Solutions, PropertyGuru Group said, “Our entry into home services is an important step as we create solutions that provide guidance and make each step of the property journey more efficient, transparent, and trusted for everyone in the ecosystem – homeowners, buyers, agents, and developers.

Rupam Biswas, Co-founder, General Manager, Sendhelper, added, “Post-COVID, as more people continue to use online solutions for their daily needs, with PropertyGuru, we aim to effectively digitise the customer journey for home needs. We look forward to co-creating tech solutions that will further ease the home services booking experience and increase users’ access to organised help as opposed to informal or ad-hoc sources.”

Bogdan Metehoui, Co-founder, Vice President, Sendhelper, said, “We are excited about joining forces with PropertyGuru and are looking forward to the synergies that we will create as a result of the two teams coming together. Our strong network of reliable suppliers and freelancers coupled with our focus on service quality, complement PropertyGuru’s customer orientation. We are determined to continue providing our customers with access to home services through a safe and reliable platform.”