UK fintech Keyzy, a platform helping aspiring homeowners get onto the property ladder, has secured asset-backed funding to acquire over £130million worth of homes over the next 18 months. The investment comes from Crayon Partners, a real estate private equity firm specialising in alternative living sectors.
The funding will enable Keyzy to expand its portfolio by more than 250 homes across Greater London by 2027, specifically targeting young professionals and key workers who are currently locked out of the housing market.
A scalable model for housing
Keyzy and Crayon Partners are already in the process of acquiring £30million of properties in the fourth quarter of 2025. The deal is structured as an OpCo-PropCo partnership—the first of its kind in Europe for this sector—which establishes a scalable model allowing Keyzy to bring on additional capital partners to fund the future growth of its rent-to-own portfolio.
This structure allows the fintech to separate the operational aspect of the business from the property assets, a model often used to accelerate growth in capital-intensive industries.
“This funding is testament to the impact Keyzy has made in helping renters escape the savings trap and achieve their number one financial objective: to own a home,” said Simon Groll, co-founder of Keyzy.
Tackling the deposit barrier
The partnership addresses a critical issue in the UK housing market: the deposit gap. With rising living costs and high rental prices, it is estimated to take up to 14 years for an average renter to save for a 10 per cent deposit on a London property.
Keyzy’s solution offers a two-year path to homeownership. The model works by fixing the rent for the duration of the lease and providing the tenant with an option to buy the home at a pre-agreed price. Crucially, renters can apply up to 100 per cent of their rent payments towards their deposit if they choose to purchase the property, significantly accelerating the timeline to ownership.
Jeremy Matallah, co-founder of Keyzy, commented: “We are more eager than ever to reimagine home buying in the UK. We’re ready to make large-scale acquisitions across London to provide a diverse range of future homes to our applicants.”
Keyzy currently operates in West and North-West London, with plans to expand into other well-connected neighbourhoods that attract young professionals and key workers.
Financial empowerment through tech
Beyond providing access to property, Keyzy leverages fintech to improve the financial health of its users. The platform uses Open Banking and other data sources to verify income and approve applications rapidly.
During their lease, residents utilise Keyzy’s homebuying coaching app, Klink, which helps them improve financial habits that might otherwise hinder mortgage approval. The company also reports rental payments to credit reference agencies, allowing tenants to build their credit scores and increase their chances of securing financing when they are ready to buy.
Paul Coates, director at Keyzy, added: “Homeownership has become increasingly out of reach for too many people. Keyzy’s bold rent-to-own model, supported by our Klink coaching platform, creates a clear route for renters to become buyers. With this funding, we now have a real opportunity to help hundreds more people realise their dream of owning a home.”
The company states that its first cohort of residents are now “graduating” from renting to owning, purchasing their properties from Keyzy using the equity built up through their rent payments.
