Savills, the upmarket estate agent, splashed down the lead investment in a £16M funding round in digital property startup Yopa to capture the increasing number of customers who are selling their homes online.   Other investors in the funding round included two of YOPA's founding directors, Andrew and Alistair Barclay.

Yopa is a hybrid service, CEO Dan Attia tells Bisnow, allowing customers to sell their homes for a flat fee of £780. Instead of challenging High Street agents directly, Yopa leverages them. Yopa has about 55 affiliate agents with local knowledge to give the personal touch that customers need when making such a huge purchase.

Savill’s interest in the company will help it compete in the online property realm with companies like Purplebricks, now the UK’s fourth-largest estate agent.

Dan tells us that it is a rare partnership. The companies don’t compete directly—Savills sells expensive properties while Yopa focuses on mass market. He says he’s never known a big company to act so entrepreneurial and dynamic. The deal was done quickly and efficiently, with no sticking points at all. Public companies are notorious for being slow-moving and stodgy, but Savills wasn’t like that, Dan says.

Now that the investment is closed, this year is going to be all about growth. The company is laying down a strong foundation, and spending money on marketing and customer service. With a head office in London and a customer service center in Hinckley (Midlands), Dan tells us the company will soon be expanding to Scotland.