Bilt Rewards, a US-based creator of loyalty programme for property renters, raised $60m on Tuesday in a growth equity round featuring number of corporates at a valuation of $350m.
Financial services group Wells Fargo, payment services firm Mastercard and real estate investment firms Equity Residential, GID, LENx, The Moinian Group, AvalonBay Communities, Related Group, Morgan Properties and Starwood Capital Group.
The round was filled out by investment manager Blackstone Group and New Valley Ventures, the venture capital arm of real estate agent Douglas Elliman’s parent company, Vector Group.
Spun out of incubator Kairos HQ, Bilt’s loyalty scheme allows renters to earn points on their rent payments that they can then redeem on a variety of goods and services like travel, gym classes, home decor or even down payments on future homes.
The funding will be used to expand the company’s partnership network, grow its distribution channels and open its programme more widely.
Ankur Jain, founder and chief executive of Bilt, said: “The concept of Bilt is simple, and the support from our partners in this early funding round validates that we are serving a real need for both consumers and businesses.
“In the same way airlines and hotels have created loyalists through their rewards programs over the last several decades, Bilt has introduced a new way to turn renting into an enjoyable experience that benefits everyone and can even build a path towards homeownership. We are continuing to add enhanced benefits and new partners to build the best programme possible and we’re only just getting started.”
