HqO, the end-to-end tenant experience platform for commercial real estate properties, has acquired Office App, a European employee engagement platform as the race to capture to post-COVID worker heats up.
The new combined entity is valued at over half a billion dollars, making it one of the most significant proptech companies in the world.
This valuation reflects the growing importance of workplace experience solutions in the commercial real estate market and comes in the same week leasing and management platform VTS announced it will acquire Lane, a workplace experience platform used by several top landlords including Brookfield, Oxford, and Hines.
With the acquisition, VTS have the largest global customer base for tenant experience, with an addressable three million users across 1400 buildings in 13 countries using VTS.
HqO currently services nearly 100 commercial real estate clients worldwide, including Columbia Property Trust, Nuveen Real Estate, Jamestown, Grosvenor, Hines, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, and Legal & General Investment Management.
Office App is currently active in 20 million square feet across over 100 offices in 24 countries. It acquisition will help HqO increase its European footprint and accelerate product development as the space undergoes radical change.
Deloitte’s 2020 Commercial Real Estate Outlook found that tenant experience is a top priority among the majority of CRE executives, although the industry in general continues to lag in its commitment to invest in technologies that drive tenant experience.
Companies like HqO and VTS are now zeroing in on that void to create global powerhouse platforms designed to cater to employee wellbeing through a digital connection.
Thijs van der Burgt, Co-founder and CEO at Office App said the acquisition by HqO will accelerate the pace of digital transformation in the workplace “changing the landscape of the modern office and giving office workers everywhere access to the tools, services, and perks they need to live, work, and be happy.”
Chase Garbarino, co-founder and CEO of HqO, said, “Providing tenant experience solutions that end at the suite door does not offer a truly connected experience for workers. Office App has done a tremendous job of building out a robust ecosystem of solutions tailored to the needs of European landlords and corporate occupiers. To that end, we are thrilled to be able to provide our customers a more complete offering with more consultation, higher user engagement rates, and more data.”
In today’s experience-based economy, tenant experience technology is a critical value driver for commercial real estate owners and operators looking to attract and retain tenants through highly personalized and frictionless experiences. By leveraging a toolset that can engage with customers and provide unique and meaningful interactions, properties can differentiate themselves against competition, keep up with the latest demands, and instill value in the workplace.
The additional resources and product offerings made available as a result of the Office App acquisition will allow both companies to leverage their shared knowledge and technology to accelerate product development and continue to provide best-in-class services and solutions to commercial landlords and property teams.
