GetGround has opened up its platform to the whole of the UK buy-to-let market, inviting all landlords to experience the services on offer – whether they choose to invest through companies or in their personal name.
The rise of limited company investing in the buy-to-let market is unprecedentedly fast. In Autumn 2023, Hamptons reported that 74% of new investment properties are now bought through limited companies – up from 61% only two years earlier. However, there remain around 2.8 million landlords in the UK whose existing property investments are held personally.
For the first time, GetGround is expanding its investment platform to reach these 2.8 million private landlords and to help them see the benefits of a different kind of investment experience.
Moubin Faizullah Khan, co-founder and CEO of GetGround, commented: “The landscape for being a buy-to-let landlord has never been more treacherous. Margins are squeezed and, assuming the rumours are true, the new government is readying a series of tax changes that’ll make property investing harder to do well than ever.
“At GetGround, we’re lifelong advocates for limited company investing, but not to the detriment of the health and buoyancy of the overall buy-to-let market. By helping any and all investors in UK property join our platform, we can help alleviate some of the costs, pressure, time and effort that are weighing heavily on private landlords’ shoulders. Keeping landlords motivated to stay in the market and do the best for their tenants is pivotal to maintaining a robust private rental sector.”
While personal ownership landlords that register with GetGround will not be eligible for the company’s flagship tax and accounting services that are specifically tailored to limited company investors, they will all be able to access GetGround’s online wallet, designed to make financial management easier for landlords.
Customers can receive rental income and make mortgage, bill and maintenance payments through a single account; they can track rent and categorise expenses to speed up bookkeeping; and they can optimise their investment performance with tailored property insights delivered to their accounts. New customers also receive a £50 ‘welcome’ bonus after setting up their wallets.
Additionally, all landlords on the GetGround platform can access:
+ GetGround’s ‘Investment Pots’ – general investment accounts tailored specifically to buy-to-let investors that offer a 5.05% annualised return, net of fees. The rate of return is variable and, as with any form of investment, customers’ capital is at risk.
+ GetGround’s full suite of services that help landlords find, finance, manage and sell their properties, all from one platform increasing visibility and reducing time, cost and effort.
There is no requirement for personal ownership landlords to convert to limited company investments after joining GetGround, but there is a hope that once using GetGround, these customers will become more familiar with the advantages of incorporated investing. For instance, all customers can access GetGround’s earnings calculator to compare their post-tax income potential if they continue to invest personally or switch to a limited company.
Faizullah Khan added: “Once onboarded, there’s no hard sell. Unincorporated landlords simply get a closer view of the advantages nearly 30,000 of their limited company contemporaries have been enjoying for almost five years. Up close, those benefits of better transparency, accountability, visibility and tax treatment are crystal clear and irrefutable. It wasn’t surprising to see that, during our testing phase, a significant proportion of new personal landlord customers made enquiries about the costs and requirements necessary to incorporate.”
This news follows the announcement in May that GetGround was opening up its platform to investors with existing limited company investments. These platform expansions follow a period of significant technology development to accommodate a greater variety of investors and support them through the lifecycle of their investments – from sourcing their first property to winding down their portfolio.
