PropertyGuru unfazed by exit of strategic investor

Singapore

IT is little-known, but investors can and do withdraw their support for startups, in what is usually a sign of lost faith. Rough as this sounds to companies just starting out, it may not be entirely ruinous - PropertyGuru is one example, said its co-founder and chief Steve Melhuish.

Despite the departure of a strategic investor just three years after it had put money in, the 10-year-old Singapore-based property-search startup has found new investors, and is now a leader in all four of its South-east Asian markets.

It even hopes to be profitable next year, he said.

Mr Melhuish told The Business Times that ImmobilienScout24, a Berlin-based propert…