Discover Germany | Business Profiles | CROWDLI AG
Co-founder and CEO Felix Helling.
Dipping into the property crowdfunding pool In the last years, crowdfunding has established itself as a viable method of funding a project. The Swiss CROWDLI AG has furthered the idea of crowdfunding and translated it into an alternative investment method for property investment and co-ownership sharing. At the start of the year, it launched its website and began funding its first property. TEXT: THOMAS SCHROERS I PHOTOS: CROWDLI AG
Co-founder and CEO Felix Helling had the initial idea for CROWDLI in 2014. At the time, he was finishing his master’s degree in building and property management, but had already multiple years of previous experience in the business. In 2016, he revisited the idea and together with his three co-founders Raphael Hagspiel, Reto Fierz and Roger Bigger put it into practice. CROWDLI, as a FinTech company, is based on the principles of crowdfunding. A property is acquired, split into segments and fully detailed on the online platform. After choosing a property and reviewing the respective documents, the amount of investment can be set. Once the contract is set up, the investment is done and the 92 | Issue 49 | April 2017
member becomes an official co-owner in the land register, who receives returns. “In contrast to buying a freehold flat, our investors can spread their investments on multiple properties, lowering their contingency risk. Opposed to an investment fund, we are able to offer lower fees, as our organisational structure is much simpler, which, of course, results in higher returns,” explains Helling. Currently, CROWDLI is funding its first property. Located in St Margrethen, Switzerland, the multi-family house was built in 2014. “Many factors are important in finding the right property. That’s why our audit and the independent audit by PWC take a little bit of time. Two factors for ex-
ample are the age of the building, which shouldn’t be more than five years and the rentability of the property. Naturally, the latter should be high.” As the idea of crowdfunding properties takes hold in the public eye, it will enable CROWDLI to continue funding, investigating and presenting new real estate to its members. www.crowdli.ch CROWDLI’s first property.