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In a bid to position itself as a major player in the country’s real estate media and tech scene, View Media Group (VMG) has added a new entity into its rapidly growing ecosystem.
The group unveiled it has fully acquired proptech firm The Today Business (TTB) for an undisclosed amount, effectively adding the provider of digital marketing and technology solutions for the property development sector and the residential property market to VMG’s real estate powerhouse.
According to VMG executive chairman Antony Catalano, the transaction has brought “not only Australia’s best lead-generation platform into the group but a team of people that are the best in the business”.
Mr Catalano said the acquisition was partly driven by TTB’s solid performance that has delivered strong results to its clients since the proptech firm was established years ago.
“The tech within TTB has proven itself by delivering high volumes of quality leads for residential agents and developers with minimal wastage. They’ve succeeded in creating a low-friction solution for agents and vendors to efficiently connect to buyers wherever and whenever they are,” Mr Catalano said.
With TTB now operating under the VMG banner, the group believes it is well underway in setting itself as a major player in Australia’s highly competitive and lucrative real estate media and technology sector.
“This is a critical part of the property ecosystem we are building at VMG as it establishes relationships at both ends of the property sales transaction,” Mr Catalano stated.
For TTB managing director Simon Kent, joining VMG’s fold puts the firm on an “incredibly exciting path”.
“Having worked with Antony for many years at Domain, and more recently as chairman of TTB, we are fully on board with his vision for VMG and his approach is the perfect fit for our business and our growth plans,” he stated.
The acquisition can also be a coming-full-circle moment for TTB, as the proptech firm was already working closely with VMG brands and businesses even before the transaction was completed.
Currently, TTB already provides performance marketing support for property portal realestateview.com.au, where VMG has a majority stake of 72 per cent. TTB also provides performance marketing services for media company ACM, which is co-owned by VMG’s Mr Catalano and Alex Waislitz.
Adding to this string of tie-ups between the two entities, TTB has an exclusive arrangement with Propic/Concierge as part of the Acquire AI solution. VMG is the largest shareholder of Propic.
TTB general manager Trent Casson weighed in that the alignment with VMG presents an opportunity for hitting new milestones after significantly expanding its footprint in three different states — namely Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane — in the last four years.
“The take-up of our proprietary digital marketing solutions has gained great momentum,” he stated.
He opined that the strategic venture would not only help grow the business but “the collective of associated businesses within the group will drive enhanced value and importantly end-to-end seamless solutions for our clients and property buyers”.
Mr Casson also shared that the disruption brought by the pandemic has provided insight on what pain points they need to help address with TTB’s technology.
“The challenging market conditions of the last few years [have] taught us that an agent’s digital acquisition strategy needs to be at the forefront of their thinking. This has really sharpened our focus and that of our clients and partners,” he said.
He believes being part of VMG has come at an “opportune” juncture for TTB.
“Having access to the collective power of the group will accelerate our strategic plan and ensure our clients benefit directly in ways which we believe makes us a much more interesting proposition to our customer base,” he said.
In August, VMG also announced an investment boost from Seven West Media group, which, when combined with investments from Mr Catalano and Mr Waislitz, takes the cash and media available to VMG to well over $100 million.
“Simon and I look forward to working with Antony, Alex Waislitz, Seven West Media and of course the other businesses in the group, some of which we are already working with,” Mr Casson concluded.
With the controlling stake in realestateview.com.au, a shareholding in utilities connections platform Beevo, a majority interest in Propic, and the Seven West Media investment, VMG said that the group is now positioned to reach more than 90 per cent of the Australian population every month.
“This is the first of many announcements VMG expects to make as we continue to build out our property ecosystem that will push hard into the $300 billion real estate transactional market,” Mr Catalano stated.
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