Adelaide fintech Joust has secured a major investment from a Melbourne real estate start-up

Adelaide fintech start-up Joust plans to rapidly expand into new international markets after securing a major investment from real estate website Houseandland.com.au.

Joust founders Mark Bevan, left, and Richard Hockney, right. Pic. Greg Higgs

• Adelaide start-up Joust hopes to raise $2m via equity crowdfunding

Adelaide fintech start-up Joust plans to rapidly expand into new international markets after securing a major investment from real estate website Houseandland.com.au.

Melbourne-based Houseandland.com.au has acquired a 70 per cent stake in Joust, which continues to operate as a stand-alone brand and business following the deal.

The Houseandland.com.au website and app allows customers to create their own house and land packages by using an algorithm to match blocks of land with house designs that fit the block dimensions.

Joust chief executive Mark Bevan said discussions between the two companies escalated following Joust’s unsuccessful campaign last year to raise $2 million via equity crowdfunding.

He’d earlier been introduced to Houseandland.com.au chief executive Dean Kyros by IT entrepreneur and Joust shareholder Geoff Rohrsheim.

“We met the team from Houseandland prior to the equity crowdfunding campaign and so it was a natural progression after the unsuccessful equity crowdfunding to deepen the discussions,” he said.

“Dean’s an Adelaide man and they’ve got four or five staff in Melbourne. He’s certainly got a vision that the two businesses together are greater than the sum of its parts.”

“The focus is to run the two businesses as two different brands and businesses. I’ll be continuing as chief executive of Joust and our general manager Greg Abel will also be staying on.”

The Joust platform, launched in 2016, links borrowers with more than 20 lenders who compete against each other to offer the best loan through a reverse auction process.

It has been backed by a small group of investors including Crows chairman and former BankSA managing director Rob Chapman.

Joust failed to attract a minimum $700,000 from last year’s equity crowdfunding campaign, but Mr Bevan said the investment from Houseandland.com.au would allow the company to expand enter new overseas markets.

“Houseandland have got some considerable financial backing and they’ve offered some commitments to us around future funding to rapidly scale the Joust business, which is what we’ve always wanted to do,” he said.

“Houseandland has a lot of overseas connections and relationships and we think the combined business model will resonate strongly in overseas markets.

“They have connections in New Zealand and the UK, which is where our interest was, but they also have close connections in the US.”

In 2017 Joust raised $400,000 from shareholders, including strategic marketing partner NOVA Entertainment Group.

That allowed the company to boost its profile in NSW, after earlier establishing footholds in the SA and Victorian markets.

Houseandland.com.au has been similarly expanding nationally in recent months, and has developed a particularly strong presence in Western Australia.

Houseandland.com.au Chairman Chris Taylor said the tie up with Joust would offer customers a one-stop-shop for people looking to buy and build property, and secure associated financing.

“Houseandland.com.au and Joust are strongly aligned where it matters – being an ally for people looking for a home and helping them get the best deal,” he said.