EstimateOne, a digital procurement platform for commercial construction, announced the completion of its first capital raise with a $35m investment from Potentia Capital and Saniel Ventures. The deal includes $20m of primary capital and a $15m secondary investment.
Potentia Capital is a specialist private equity investor focused on tech-enabled businesses and is helmed by Co-Managing Directors Tim Reed (President of the Business Council of Australia, and former CEO of MYOB), and Andrew Gray (former Managing Director of Archer Capital).
Saniel Ventures is a private investment group supporting high growth technology companies, backed by Leigh Jasper, co-founder of construction management platform Aconex.
EstimateOne risk and cost-cutting technology
EstimateOne connects commercial builders with subcontractors to deliver seamless, technology-enabled tendering, reducing cost and risk for the construction industry.
The investment will enable EstimateOne to scale up its product expansion strategy, building on pre-construction tendering into a suite of connected procurement workflows.
It will also accelerate EstimateOne’s entry into new markets across Southeast Asia and North America, adding to its current footprint in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand.
EstimateOne was founded in 2008 in Melbourne by Andrew Ritchie and Michael Ashcroft, who set out to digitise commercial construction tendering. They continue to be major shareholders and will remain closely involved in the business as directors.
Mr Ashcroft, founder of EstimateOne was optimistic following the Series funding.
“Being ‘bootstrapped’ and profitable to date has allowed us to grow business on our terms.”
“As the construction industry is now at a turning point, driven by supply chain issues and labour shortages we recognise more than ever the value our platform offers, and that the business is ready to seek investment to deliver significant scale and growth.”
“Procurement problems are very expensive for the industry and process execution and decision-making has not been well supported by technology. We want to change that.”
“Construction technology is at a stage of rapid adoption and we have the insights, data, technology and a high-quality team ready to solve many of the problems in the industry.”
“We are committed to delivering value through our network, helping customers make better decisions, and reduce costs and risks carried by builders, subcontractors and suppliers.”
“In Potentia and Saniel Ventures we’ve found capital partners that are aligned with our vision and are just as excited about the opportunity in construction technology as we are. They have already demonstrated immense value above and beyond just providing capital.”
EstimateOne backed to reach better horizons
Michael McNamara, Partner at Potentia Capital, made the following remarks.
“We are delighted to support EstimateOne in its next phase of growth.”
“We have been highly impressed by EstimateOne’s founders and management team, the exceptional workplace culture and calibre of talent, the care and thought that has been given to the company’s vision and values, and its strong market position with a deeply engaged network of more than 50,000 builders, subcontractors and suppliers across Australia.”
“We believe the construction sector is on the cusp of significant tech-led innovation, and look forward to supporting EstimateOne grow its leadership position in Australia and offshore.”
Leigh Jasper, CEO of Saniel Ventures, partnered with Potentia on the deal, remarked.
“EstimateOne streamlines the commercial construction supply chain by connecting contractors and their subbies to deliver better procurement outcomes.”
“The company has strong technology and wide market penetration, providing the leading platform to deliver additional procurement tools and data services to benefit the industry.”
In early 2021, EstimateOne bolstered its executive team with the appointment of CEO Chris Dobbyn, who led the capital raise process. Potentia’s Tim Reed and Michael McNamara will also join the EstimateOne Board as Directors following the successful capital raise.
EstimateOne was supported by Adam Shapiro of UTA CFO Advisory and DLA Piper. Johnson, Winter & Slattery, EY and LEK advised Potentia Capital and Saniel Ventures.
