This UK Proptech Startup Just Hit a $250M Valuation—Here's Why

Jan de Vries · 2026-07-24

A Manchester-based company is quietly reshaping how estate agents work across the UK. And now, it's got a heavyweight investor on its side. Street Group, formerly known as Agent Software, just secured a strategic growth investment from Hg—a major player in European and transatlantic software. The deal values the company at over $250 million (approximately £200 million). That's a big number for a business that started less than a decade ago. ### What Street Group Actually Does Founded in 2015 by siblings Tom and Heather Staff, Street Group builds software that powers the UK residential property market. Think of it as an operating system for estate and letting agents. Their core products include: - **Street.co.uk**: A CRM platform that helps agents manage client relationships - **Spectre**: A prospecting and lead-generation tool - **Cortex**: An AI-native product that lets customers build and orchestrate their own AI agents It's not just about digitizing old processes. The company is embedding AI directly into the workflows agents use every day. That's a smart move, because the property industry has been slow to adopt new tech. Street Group is betting that AI can change that. ### Why Hg Invested Hg is no small fish. The firm manages over $110 billion in assets and has a portfolio of around 60 companies worth more than $190 billion in total enterprise value. They've got a strong presence in North America and Europe. So when they back a company, people pay attention. Louis Kinsella, a Partner at Hg, said: "Street is exactly the kind of business we love to back. It's a category leader with a technical edge, loved by its customers, and deeply embedded in their daily workflows." That's the key: Street Group isn't just selling software. It's become part of how agents do their jobs. That kind of stickiness is rare, and it's exactly what investors look for. ### What the Founders Say Heather and Tom Staff remain majority controlling shareholders and will continue to lead the business. They're clear about what this funding means. "We built Street to fundamentally change how estate and letting agents work, and AI is central to that mission," they said. "In Hg we have found a partner who shares our long-term ambition, our product focus, and brings genuine depth of experience." The company plans to use the investment to accelerate product innovation and deepen its AI capabilities. With over 200 employees and thousands of agency branches already using their software, they're in a strong position to scale. ### The Bigger Picture This deal is part of a broader trend. Property technology, or proptech, has been heating up across Europe and North America. Investors are betting that digital tools will transform how we buy, sell, and rent homes. Street Group's focus on AI gives it an edge in a market that's been slow to innovate. For US readers, it's worth noting that Hg's transatlantic presence means this could eventually impact the American market. The firm's network spans both continents, and Street Group's technology could easily adapt to US real estate workflows. ### What's Next With fresh capital and a strong investor, Street Group is poised to grow. The founders are staying at the helm, which is usually a good sign. They've built something that works, and now they have the resources to make it even better. If you're in the real estate or proptech space, this is one to watch. The company is proving that vertical software and AI can go hand in hand—and that there's serious money to be made in making agents' lives easier.