Dwelly has secured its tenth deal of 2026 – the acquisition of London sales and lettings agency Paramount Properties, adding a further 1,100 fully managed properties to its portfolio. The firm has also secured $170m in funding from some technology investors, including EQT Growth and General Catalyst, to accelerate both its acquisition strategy and investment in AI.
The deal follows several acquisitions during 2026, with Dwelly having added agencies including Goodwin, Lime Property, Albery Tyson, Elliot Oliver, Move, Eden Harper, AP Morgan, Settio and Shaws to its growing network.
According to Dwelly, the industry’s long-term fundamentals look different from the short-term headlines. The company’s analysis of historic government housing tenure data shows that the private rented sector has increased since the turn of the millennium.
In 2000, privately rented homes accounted for 12.5% of the combined owner-occupied and privately rented housing stock. The figure stands at 23.3% now, meaning the proportion of homes accounted for by the private rented sector has almost doubled. In absolute terms, the number of privately rented homes has increased by almost three million over the same period, from 2.089 million in 2000 to 5.030 million.
“If you judged the private rented sector purely by the headlines, you’d probably conclude it’s a market to avoid. Our view is very different. We think the industry is becoming more professional, not less attractive.
“Whilst some landlords have understandably decided that today’s regulatory environment isn’t for them, those who remain need more support than ever before and that only increases the importance of high-quality letting agents.
“When you step back and look at the long-term picture, Britain’s rental market has almost doubled as a proportion of the housing market over the last 25 years. That’s not a shrinking sector – it’s one that’s matured significantly and continues to play a vitally important role in meeting housing demand.
“Our acquisition activity this year reflects that belief. We see enormous long-term opportunity in helping great local agencies become even stronger.
“Technology is a key part of that because it removes much of the growing administrative burden from agency teams, allowing them to focus on the advice, relationships and expertise that landlords and tenants value most. For us, AI isn’t replacing the letting agent. It’s enabling the professional letting agent to become even more valuable.”
Sam Humphreys, Head of M&A, Dwelly
Whilst some smaller landlords have chosen to exit in the face of increasing regulation, taxation and higher operating costs, those who remain are increasingly operating on a more professional footing, with greater reliance on experienced letting agents capable of navigating an increasingly complex legislative landscape.
Dwelly argues the reforms are increasing the value of those able to deliver high-quality, compliant property management at scale. For landlords, professional expertise is becoming more important than ever. For agents, operational efficiency is becoming just as critical as local market knowledge.
Rather than replacing letting agents, the company’s AI platform has been developed to automate much of the growing administrative burden associated with compliance, maintenance, communication and day-to-day property management, allowing experienced teams to spend more time advising landlords, supporting tenants and building client relationships.
The company says this combination of technology and local expertise has attributed to several acquisitions throughout 2026.
