Unitoq has secured €155,000 in early-stage pre-seed funding from a group of business angels that includes members of the Latvian Business Angel Network (LatBAN). The startup is building a platform for individuals to buy stakes in residential rental properties from €100, and says investors would receive a share of the rent and of any rise in a property’s value. The platform cannot launch until Unitoq holds an EU licence.
Co-founder and chief executive Eduards Raudonis set up the company with Nikita Manija this year in Riga, the capital of Latvia. According to the company, the funding will support its licensing process, the platform launch and the introduction of its first investment properties while it prepares for a future seed round, the larger funding stage that usually follows. More than 1,000 people have already joined the waiting list, the company said.
LatBAN reports 98 active members, and its syndicates, groups of angels who invest together in one deal, put €2.3M into seven companies across six deals in 2025, according to the European Business Angels Network.
Stakes, Rent And Risks
Investors will choose individual properties on the platform rather than putting money into a general fund. Unitoq says properties will be held in special purpose vehicles, which are separate companies set up to own the assets. Rental income will be paid out in proportion to each investor’s stake. The company also says properties will be vetted before they are offered and that experienced operators will manage tenants and maintenance, while investors follow their holdings online.
Unitoq’s website shows sample calculations based on estimated rents and price growth, labelled as estimates rather than guarantees, alongside a warning that capital is at risk and that property values and rental income can fall as well as rise. The example includes admin, legal and platform fees, and the company says every fee will be set out in a Key Investment Information Sheet for each investment.
“Owning a rental property has built wealth for generations,” Raudonis said. He added that the high entry cost and the work of managing a property put that route out of reach for most people.
Waiting For A Licence
Unitoq cannot yet take investors’ money because its licence is still pending. The startup is applying to the Bank of Latvia for authorisation under the European Crowdfunding Service Providers Regulation, the EU rulebook for investment- and lending-based crowdfunding platforms that has applied since November 2021. Authorisation would let Unitoq serve investors across the bloc rather than in a single country. Platforms already operating when the rules arrived had until November 2023 to comply.
The rules also set limits and safeguards. A project owner can raise up to €5M in any 12 months through a licensed platform, and investors without professional experience must pass a knowledge test before they can invest. Each offer has to come with a key investment information sheet setting out its terms and risks.
The startup expects to launch in early 2027, subject to regulatory approval. Until then, Unitoq’s website accepts sign-ups only and states that the company does not currently provide investment services.
A Growing EU Market
Unitoq is entering a sizeable regulated market. Crowdfunding platforms in the EU raised €4.25bn in 2024, according to the European Securities and Markets Authority, and 229 providers held authorisation by the end of that year. Real estate drew 1.45 million investors, more than any other sector, and retail investors made up 88% of all investors on the platforms, typically putting in around €660 each.
Latvia’s market already reaches beyond its borders. The same report found that 47% of investors on Latvian platforms came from other countries, and in neighbouring Estonia the share reached 77%.
Rental housing has drawn other early-stage money this autumn. Dublin’s Lette, whose software handles leasing and resident operations for large rental landlords, closed a $6.5M seed round in October.
Unitoq now has angel backing, a waiting list and a licence application under way in Latvia. Its plan to split rental homes into small stakes, and its hoped-for launch in early 2027, both rest on the regulator’s decision.
