Belfast, UK-based Software-as-a-Service developer GoReport has appointed RICS PropTech leader Anthony Walker as its new CEO.
SaaS PropTech business GoReport* has appointed Anthony Walker as its new CEO. The Belfast, UK-based business says it is looking to expand its portfolio of digital surveying solutions for the commercial and residential property sectors.
PropTech passion
Walker has more than 30 years’ industry experience as a surveyor and project manager. He chairs the RICS Building Surveying Professional Board Group on which he also leads on PropTech, and he developed and led the PropTech offer at Trident Building Consultancy for over four years.
He has also held a number of senior positions within the public and private sector including 10 years with the Department for Education where he led the Property Data Survey Programme, the largest single building surveying programme in Europe covering more than 52 million square metres of internal area. Walker said:
“PropTech is my passion and has been central in my professional life for over 20 years. Most recently I’ve witnessed first-hand how much simpler and effective GoReport makes intelligent data capturing for surveyors on site and the added value it brings for their clients. Their customer service is something that stands them out in this space. I’m really looking forward to being a part of the continued growth and development of this innovative company.”
GoReport is best known for its software for surveyors, project managers and estates managers, capturing site data electronically to convert into vital property management information, reports and data analytics. Founded by Conor Moran, the business launched its iPad-based application in November 2012 (post), enabling companies to create standard data capture and report templates for their surveys, so that surveyors can then efficiently capture information on-site. Early users reported time savings of up to 70% in compiling reports, and support for RICS standard reports followed in 2014. Moran left GoReport and joined Aveva in early 2017.
Competition
Competing PropTech solutions include Kykloud* (Moran claimed GoReport delivered a high quality report than what he saw as Kykloud’s more quantitative asset management-oriented approach). Launched in January 2012 (post), North Shields, UK-based Kykloud also said it improved surveyor productivity and in April 2013 was the first to provided RICS-approved reporting tools. It also looked to expand into overseas markets including Australasia and the US, while also winning major domestic projects, including, in 2016, a three-year condition survey of around 80,000 buildings in 22,000 state-funded schools across England for the Education Funding Agency (where Walker worked up to August 2014). More recently, in January 2018, Kykloud was acquired by Austin, Texas, US-based software business Accruent for an undisclosed sum.
[* Disclosure: GoReport and Kykloud are past clients of pwcom.co.uk.]
