StudentCrowd – the UK’s leading student review platform and data provider for the purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) sector – has secured a further £7m to accelerate its international expansion.
The Series A round included YFM Equity Partners and Mercia Ventures, which was investing from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II (MEIF II). It follows an initial £2.5m funding round by MEIF II and Mercia in 2023.
StudentCrowd, based in Wolverhampton, was founded by Paul Humphreys and Pete Sisson (pictured) to help students make more confident decisions about where to study and live. It has helped over 14 million students to date.
The platform also provides data for the PBSA sector on a subscription basis and is trusted by the 30 largest operators in the UK. The funding comes at a time when the PBSA sector is undergoing significant change as operators and investors navigate rising complexity in pricing, supply and demand and increasing student expectations.
The latest investment will support continued product development and enable the company to scale its data platform across Europe and the US.
Paul Humphreys, Co-Founder of StudentCrowd, said: “Our mission has always been to bring transparency to the student accommodation market – both for the students and for the sector. On the student side, we want every student to be able to choose where they study and live with confidence, powered by authentic, verified reviews from people with real experience.
“On the industry side, we have built a dataset that gives operators, investors and advisers the independent, accurate data they need to make optimal decisions. This funding enables us to invest in the platform to better support decision making for the students and the sector.”
Bethan Bannister, Senior Investment Manager at the British Business Bank, said: “The Midlands Engine Investment Fund II supports innovative businesses across the Midlands, and this investment in StudentCrowd will help accelerate the company’s expansion into international markets across Europe and the USA. Since the first round of funding in 2023, the business has made significant progress in its growth journey, and we look forward to seeing it achieve even greater success in the years ahead.”
Rafael Joseph of Mercia Ventures said: “We first backed StudentCrowd in 2023 and the team have impressed us at every stage since. They have delivered consistently against their targets, bolstered the business with some important hires, and grown the platform into something the sector genuinely relies on. We are delighted to be continuing the journey alongside YFM.”
Oliver Wheatley, Investment Manager at YFM Equity Partners, said: “What has really stood out to us is that Paul, Pete and the team consistently deliver on what they say they will do. They have built a genuinely impressive business on limited capital, and the quality of the product shows in the way customers talk about it and the impressive company metrics. The international expansion is not a speculative bet – existing customers are already pulling them into new markets, which tells you everything about the strength of the underlying proposition. We’re excited to partner with the management team and Mercia to support the next chapter of that journey.”