Spark announces US$100 million global venture fund

HONG KONG, 06 June 2018 – JLL Spark, a division of JLL (NYSE: JLL), announces today the creation of JLL Spark Global Venture Fund, which plans to invest up to US$100 million in companies focused on leveraging technology to improve everything from real estate development and management to leasing and investing, while enhancing the experience of those who occupy it. The fund will help entrepreneurs and their companies by connecting them with JLL's business lines and clients for insightful feedback and product distribution.

According to a recent report by JLL and Tech in Asia, proptech start-ups in Asia Pacific are outpacing their counterparts in Europe and the United States with 179 of them raising around US$4.8 billion in funding between 2013 and mid-2017 – over 60 per cent of the global total. It forecasts that funding for proptech start-ups in this region will reach US$4.5 billion a year by 2020.

"Asia Pacific is home to the world's leading smart cities, many of which are powered by tech-enabled real estate tools. JLL is committed to cultivating next-generation proptech start-ups and promoting Asia Pacific as a hub of technology innovation for real estate, and JLL Spark Global Venture Fund is an extension of that goal," says Mihir Shah, Co-CEO at JLL Spark.

"The fund gives us the unparalleled opportunity to partner with local and global entrepreneurs who can utilise the resources of JLL's business lines to rapidly grow their companies while creating value for JLL's clients."

The new fund will focus on seed and Series A investments, as well as select later stage rounds. Typical investment size will range from a few hundred thousand to several million dollars. JLL Spark will direct its efforts to technology startups with products that can help JLL investor and occupier clients, or that can be used by JLL businesses to better deliver their services. The fund is also interested in companies that are inventing new technology-enabled business models in traditional JLL service areas or those that will help expand its services to new client segments.

"Creating this US$100 million venture fund through JLL Spark allows us to continue to lead the real estate industry in bringing the best proptech ideas to reality. It complements and expands our substantial ongoing investments in innovative, cutting-edge digital solutions, which is a core part of our Beyond strategic vision and commitment to achieve ambitions for our clients," says Christian Ulbrich, JLL's Global CEO.

As part of its commitment to engaging with the tech and innovation ecosystem in Asia Pacific, JLL is today hosting 'Proptech Unleashed', the first-ever proptech forum at innovfest unbound Singapore, Southeast Asia's largest innovation festival. Happening in conjunction with the Singapore Smart Nation Innovation Week, 'Proptech Unleashed' gathers industry thought leaders and rising entrepreneurs to explore the impact of smart cities and how corporates can successfully innovate.