Online rental services platform Howsy – which last week revealed £5m new investment from backers – has acquired online lettings agency Urban.

Urban was at one time acquired by the original Emoov agency, but was not part of the collapse that saw both Emoov and Tepilo go into administration at the end of 2018.

The acquisition of Urban marks Howsy’s first move after their recent announcement of a £5m investment led by Skybound Capital.

A statement this morning described Urban as concentrating on “a quick, self-service online tenant find solution” while Howsy “provides an end to end property management platform for UK landlords, from tenant find through to repairs management and renewals, combining technology and innovative insurance products to offer a low fixed-fee management cost.”

Howsy chief executive Calum Brannan says: “Howsy benefits from stable recurring revenue, mixed with cutting edge technology so we can reduce the costs to operate by up to 70 per cent compared to high street agents. Both businesses bring a different set of skills on which they’ve both built a great degree of success but by combining these, we are able to create a lettings powerhouse that will provide a complete and unrivalled offering to UK landlords.”