Parkers launches new Basingstoke office following strategic acquisitions of Property Explorer and Barons
Parkers has officially launched its new Basingstoke office, strengthening its presence across Hampshire and marking the latest stage in the groupโs plans for continued expansion. The new office follows Parkersโ acquisitions earlier this year of established Basingstoke agencies Property Explorer and Barons, giving the business an established platform from which to build its presence in the town.
The launch brings Parkersโ network into one of the regionโs largest and most active markets, complementing its existing offices in Tadley, Newbury, Reading and surrounding villages.
For Franchise Owners Simon Gregory, Simon West and Ben Mitchell, the move represents a natural geographical fit for the business and an opportunity to establish the Parkers brand in Basingstoke. โBasingstoke fits perfectly geographically for us and our neighbouring offices, and it is great to see Parkers back in Basingstoke too,โ adds Gregory.
The acquisitions of Property Explorer and Barons have provided the business with a strong foundation in the town.
Gregory said: โThe acquisitions certainly gave us a running start in the town, with a very well-managed property portfolio that fits into the way we manage ours. Barons were one of the most successful agents in Basingstoke and were independently owned. While we are part of The Property Franchise Group, we still run our business independently, which is important to us.โ
The decision to acquire Property Explorer was driven in part by Parkersโ existing links to the Basingstoke area through its Tadley operation, as well as the townโs significant rental market.
โWe had wanted to open in Basingstoke for a while,โ said Gregory. โWe operate closely in the area from our Tadley office and it is a huge area for rentals, so when we were offered Property Explorer, it just made perfect sense.โ
Andrew Stanton CEO Proptech-PR
New capital to accelerate product development and deepen the companyโs market reach
LIP Ventures and Inven Capital lead round as enterprise demand for water risk management accelerates
NEW YORK, September 9, 2026 โ Wint, the leading provider of water management solutions for the built environment, today announced it has raised $36 million in Series D funding co-led by LIP Ventures and Inven Capital. With this investment, Wint will accelerate product development and deepen the companyโs market reach.
โWint has established itself as the trusted platform for enterprise water intelligence, with a customer base and a track record that speaks for itself,” said Alan Weisleder, Partner at LIP Ventures. “This investment is an opportunity to help a proven team scale a proven solution to a much larger share of the global market, and we’re proud to be part of that journey.โ
โWater risk is one of the most underestimated threats to the built environment. Wint exists to change that, and this funding gives us the resources to bring proactive water intelligence to every building, everywhere,โ said Alon Geva, CEO at Wint. โBuildings that run on Wint leak less, waste less, and perform better, and this investment lets us scale to a much larger share of the world’s built environment.โ
โWe are excited to continue backing Wint as the leading water intelligence platform and key infrastructure layer for how buildings monitor, manage, and mitigate water-related risks,โ said Michal Mravec, Investment Director at Inven Capital โThe company’s growing traction with leading insurers, real estate owners, facility managers, and installation partners validates both the scale of the opportunity and Wintโs ability to create value across the entire water management ecosystem.โ
Wint’s platform uses AI algorithms to analyze water data in commercial and industrial buildings in real time, giving facilities and risk teams precise visibility into where water is being used, wasted, or lost before damage occurs. The company serves global enterprises, commercial and residential facilities, general contractors, and mission-critical facilities seeking to halt water waste, prevent damage, lower operational costs, and strengthen their ESG impact.
Andrew Stanton CEO Proptech-PR
Why those who think they do not need AI might actually have the most to gain
Thought Leadership by Robert Horwood โ Co-Founder of Prevou
โEstate agency is a people business. You are dealing with peopleโs homes, their money, their families and sometimes one of the biggest decisions they will ever make. So, when people start talking about AI taking over everything, I can understand why some agents switch off. It is all too much noise sometimes. But I think we are looking at it the wrong way.
I do not think the question is whether AI can replace an estate agent. I do not think it should. The question I am more interested in is, Can AI make a good estate agent better? That is what we have spent the last 12 months trying to work out at Prevou, and things have moved incredibly fast since we first started. When we started building Prevou, I do not think I fully appreciated just how quickly AI was going to develop.
Today it can have a natural conversation with a customer, respond to an enquiry instantly, answer questions about a property and the surrounding area, qualify a buyer or tenant, speak different languages, and even book a viewing, and that is just the half of it.
And the most crucial point of all?
It does not go home at 6pm.
Imagine someone sitting at home at 9:30pm on a Friday night looking at one of your properties.
They want to know if it is still available.
How far is the train station?
What are the schools like?
Can they bring a dog?
Can they view it on Sunday?
But they do not want to spend the next hour scrolling through property after property, filling in form after form, and then waiting for someone to get back to them.
They just want answers
And if that property is not right for them, they want to be able to say what they are actually looking for and see what else might be available. Traditionally, they fill in a form, and somebody gets back to them the next day.
With Prevou, the conversation can start right there and then at 9:30pm, not the following day. I do not see that as replacing the estate agent at all. I see it as a win-win for both the agent and the customer. The customer gets a better, more immediate, immersive experience, while the agent receives a genuine, qualified opportunity rather than just another enquiry.
The Cost of Not Having AI?
Everyone talks about generating more leads, but what about the ones you have just paid for? Agents spend a lot of money generating enquiries through Rightmove, Zoopla, their websites and marketing, and we all know it is not cheap. What happens when an enquiry arrives at 10pm, the office is busy, or a buyer just wants a couple of questions answered before booking a viewing?
How many of those opportunities simply disappear, and at what cost?
That became a big part of what we wanted Prevou to solve. Respond quickly, answer the questions, understand what the customer wants, qualify the opportunity and, where possible, get the viewing booked. Then hand it back to the agent. The aim is simple, make sure fewer opportunities are missed.
Andrew Stanton CEO Proptech-PR
