The British Property Federation (BPF) has announced a merger with the UK PropTech Association (UKPA) as part of a move to drive innovation in the property sector and protect the proptech ecosystem
The merger will combine BPF’s membership of nearly 400 property owners, investors, developers and advisors with over 1,000 entrepreneurs, solution providers, venture capital investors and proptech innovators who comprise UKPA’s community.
Who are the organisations involved?
The BPF is a membership organisation that aims to represent the interest of property industry stakeholders in the UK, such as developers, funders, agents, and advisers. The BPF works with the government and regulatory bodies to help the industry thrive and grow. The industry-wide membership allows government and regulatory bodies to access a broad catalogue of knowledge, which can help inform their decisions.
The BPF recently delivered a toolkit designed to improve the delivery of affordable homes in the UK. The toolkit aims to boost the availability of affordable homes by providing a better understanding of partnership models for investors and housing associations.
According to the BPF, the toolkit will help to demystify partnership models by learning from those that have already taken place and assist the industry in creating effective ways to increase the delivery of affordable housing.
UKPA is a non-profit membership organisation created to drive the digital transformation of the property industry by boosting engagement between proptech and property businesses and creating an environment conducive to the proptech ecosystem. UKPA protects the interests of members from a broad representation of the proptech ecosystem, proptech companies, property companies, protect investors.
Shared knowledge is key to a healthy proptech ecosystem
The partnership will aim to boost collaboration between property and proptech businesses by combining UKPA Board members and executive team members from the BPF. The companies hope to create a new integrated strategy for driving innovation and tech adoption across the property sector.
“We believe integrating the UKPA within the BPF will create a powerful combined voice and a new platform for knowledge-sharing and collaboration across the industry as we work to embed innovation and technology in all facets of property development and management. We look forward to discussing our plans in more detail with members over the coming months,” said,” said Melanie Leech, chief executive of BPF.
The integration of the two organisations will be formalised in June 2023 after consultation with UKPA members. The move will see UKPA become a legal subsidiary of the BPF and continue. The companies have said there will be no change to the short-term membership terms for either BPF or UKPA members and that UKPA will continue to operate under its current name.
“The future health of the property sector and its ability to tackle fundamental challenges, such as the decarbonisation of the built environment, will depend on its commitment to embracing new technologies and fully harnessing the power of data,” explained Leech.
“This merger presents a natural next step in the evolution of the UKPA as we strive to address key challenges within the industry, including data, ESG, and enabling digital transformation. Our organisations share a common mission to drive growth and innovation, and this is an opportunity to tackle these challenges together and create a more collaborative and innovative industry for all,” added Sammy Pahal, managing director of UKPA.
