Thirdfort, a risk management platform combining Know Your Client (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Source-of-Funds (SoF), has secured equity investment from leading agents Knight Frank LLP, Grosvenor Hill Ventures (Savills’ proptech investment subsidiary) and Chestertons.  

All three agents have adopted Thirdfort’s one-stop solution for AML and will support product development. 

Olly Thornton-Berry, co-founder and Managing Director at Thirdfort, commented: “All estate agents are having to navigate the rapidly escalating AML regulations, with HMRC requesting more than just a simple PEP screen, yet legacy AML solutions do not cater to the new world of risk. We saw a huge opportunity to build the first platform that actually protected against money laundering, leveraging Open Banking and 12 third party KYC suppliers, packaged into a mobile app that turns seamless compliance into a competitive advantage.”  

All three businesses will initially adopt Thirdfort’s mobile-first offering across their residential sales teams. Having completed a six-month pilot in April, Knight Frank has already rolled Thirdfort out across all UK branches. Chestertons is implementing Thirdfort’s platform across its UK network, while Savills will embark on a pilot following this investment before a planned rollout.  

As the market-leading platform for property professionals, Thirdfort is the only platform to combine digital ID, AML and SoF verification, alongside Open Banking and transaction specific data. The platform rapidly informs property professionals of risks with onboarding both individuals and corporates, enabling them to begin transacting with new clients more quickly. Thirdfort is currently used by more than 850 estate agents, conveyancing firms and law firms. 

By forging closer relationships with its strategic investors, the move supports product development, as AML compliance continues to increase across all aspects of property transactions. This will include the optimisation of Thirdfort’s product for lettings, in addition to exploring how Thirdfort can be used in other areas, including mortgages and commercial sales. 

Philip Gardner, Group Head of Strategy Risk & Operations at Knight Frank said: “We are delighted to make this investment into what we believe is the leading AML platform. We look forward to working with the other investors and leadership at Thirdfort to develop the platform and explore further use across the Knight Frank group.”    

Egita Cepurnaite, Head of AML at Chestertons: “Having recently completed a pilot of Thirdfort’s platform we believe it could offer our clients and staff a more streamlined and secure approach to KYC, AML and SoF checks. By using Open Banking, cryptographic and biometric verification, and real-time ongoing PEPs and sanctions monitoring, the platform will help automate compliance requirements while reducing the risk of fraud and money laundering.”  

Derry Lynch, Head of Residential Compliance at Savills: “We are very much looking forward to working with Thirdfort.  Compliance procedures are increasingly complex and time-consuming, so a new platform that accelerates some of the processes involved in any property transaction is welcome and will help us improve the client experience.”  

ENDS 

Notes to editors 

For more information, please contact: 

• Ed Smith, [email protected] or 07983 245 873 
• James Boyd-Wallis, [email protected] or 07793 021 607 

About Thirdfort

• Thirdfort protects life’s big transactions so that businesses and their clients can move fearlessly. 
  
   
• With payment fraud and money laundering skyrocketing, regulated professionals are struggling to keep pace with their compliance obligations. Thirdfort turns compliance into a competitive advantage, offering beautifully secure onboarding for professional services businesses operating across legal, property and finance.  

• Thirdfort was founded by university friends Olly Thornton-Berry and Jack Bidgood after a friend was defrauded out of £25,000 whilst buying a flat in London, despite having gone through countless anti-fraud checks with multiple professionals. Olly and Jack saw first-hand the devastating effects of fraud, and the cruel irony of their friend being subjected to endless paper based anti-fraud checks which were hugely frustrating. Thirdfort’s platform was developed in response to hearing from lawyers, estate agents, mortgage brokers and other professionals about how challenging it had become to onboard and transact securely with clients in a world of ever rising regulation and fraud.