Bowery Valuation, a cloud-based appraisal platform for commercial real estate, will open multiple Florida offices over the next year after raising $35 million in a Series B financing round.
The New York-based company aims to launch at least one Miami office and one Central Florida location as it grows its Sunshine State footprint. The firm opened its first local office in Palm Beach Gardens two months ago.
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Founded in 2017, Bowery Valuation provides tech-driven software solutions designed to modernize the commercial real estate appraisal process. The platform integrates with public data sources to automatically generate property information in a way that aims to save appraisers time and driving efficiency. The company was valued at $90 million in 2019, according to PitchBook data.
The firm's Series B round was led by the growth equity unit of Goldman Sachs, with participation from Capital One Ventures and existing investors Builders VC, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, and Greenspring Associates.
Jade Mandel, VP in growth equity for Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said lenders and property owners are demanding faster and more accurate appraisals as commercial real estate transactions become more complex.
"Through their differentiated technology and the innovative work of their team, Bowery Valuation has led a dramatic transformation of the commercial real estate appraisal process and is quickly establishing itself as the preferred appraisal firm in the industry," Mandel said.
The recent capital injection will fuel Bowery's national expansion, including its move into South Florida. According to Bowery, the market's commercial real estate boom has resulted in a shortage of appraisers, making the area ripe for the company's technology. A spokesperson told the Business Journal that the firm already has relationships with several local lenders, including Amerant, BankUnited and Ocean Bank.
“The positive response we've received about our service and reports produced on our proprietary appraisal platform from banks and other lenders, commercial real estate owners, and investment funds has been overwhelming," Bowery co-founder and co-CEO John Meadows said in a statement.
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