LOS ANGELES, May 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Connect Homes, an industry-leading prefab housing provider, today announced the close of its Series A investment of $10.8 million, led by Brick & Mortar Ventures and Virgo Investment Group. Other investors include MetaProp, Almubader Growth Fund, and Wells Fargo Strategic Capital. The investment will be used to fund Connect Homes' factory and application of its patented modular technology. Darren Bechtel from Brick & Mortar Ventures and Scott Johnson from Virgo Investment Group will join the board of directors.
"Single family home building costs have become unsustainable in many metro areas, and Connect Homes' innovative system solves core logistical issues that have kept prefab housing from being a clear winner over traditional construction," said Darren Bechtel of Brick & Mortar Ventures. "Their approach helps people affordably build homes in areas where it's out of reach. We're excited to help make their factory the most technologically advanced of its kind."
Connect Homes was launched in 2013 by architects Jared Levy and Gordon Stott to bring beautiful, smart residential homes to a mass-market price point. Connect Homes' assembly-line approach streamlines one of the most inefficient, costly, and challenging processes for consumers: building a home. With a line of 14 standard homes easily adapted to a client's needs in its BIM (Building Information Modeling) software platform, Connect Homes delivers on its core proposition of providing high-design, high-performance homes at a fraction of the time and cost of custom residential architecture and building.
Private residential construction spending is expected to top $500 billion in 2019, according to the US Census. Construction costs are typically highest in metro areas, where aging housing stock is not suited to the needs of growing families wanting to live near jobs and urban amenities. Until Connect Homes, there hasn't been a way to cost-effectively and predictably turn an existing 900 sf tear-down into a right-sized 2500 sf house that doesn't involve years of waiting, headaches, cost-overruns, and change-orders.
"There are huge efficiencies to be gained by turning off-site construction into a vertically integrated solution in the single family home space," said Scott Johnson of Virgo Investment Group. "Connect Homes has created a beautiful housing product that they design, build, ship and install efficiently. Their patented modular technology means they can serve every market in the US from their single factory."
"With Brick & Mortar's unmatched expertise in advanced construction technology and Virgo Investment Group's focus on game-changing logistical approaches, we couldn't ask for stronger partners to help us redefine the single family home market," said Jared Levy, CEO of Connect Homes.
About Connect Homes
Connect Homes' patented modular system can deliver affordable modern, green homes to national housing markets from their advanced California factory, a first for the industry. Connect Homes was launched in 2013 by architects seeking to revolutionize the single-family home market by turning high-end custom residential architecture into a scalable product that more people can afford. For more information, http://connect-homes.com.
About Brick & Mortar Ventures
Brick & Mortar Ventures is a San Francisco-based venture capital fund focused exclusively on disruptive technologies for the verticals of Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Facilities Operations. Founded in 2015 by Darren Bechtel with a mission to identify, invest in, and grow emerging companies developing innovative software and hardware solutions. The firms industry experience uniquely positions it to evaluate new technologies as well as build deep relationships with industry leaders designing and building the modern world. For more information, http://brickmortar.vc.
About Virgo Investment Group
Founded in 2009, Virgo is a thematic investor with the mission of building meaningful businesses. Virgo partners with Founder-led or Family-owned businesses where both existing owners and management have a material equity stake in the business. Virgo targets companies undergoing industry or company-specific change, which are executing on an identified inflection point in value. Virgo has flexible capital that allows the Firm to provide differentiated solutions. Virgo is an actively engaged investor, driving value-add initiatives post-investment via a focus on human capital transformation, business process enhancement, and technology implementation through the Firm's Spica Alpha Unit. The Firm has invested over $1.1 billion, completing 55 investments to date. For more information, please visit www.virgo-llc.com.
SOURCE Virgo Investment Group
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