openmoove – a Cardiff-based property technology business founded by two experienced Welsh entrepreneurs – has secured £700,000 in equity investment, in a deal led by the Development Bank of Wales, to scale its platform, grow its team and support the rollout of its service across the UK property sector.
Founded in 2024 by Ross McKenzie and Cai Gwinnutt – who have joined a number of Legal News Wales’ Conveyancing Wales Forum events to work collaboratively with the legal sector – openmoove has developed a B2B platform designed to streamline the workflows of estate agents, conveyancers and mortgage brokers, helping reduce administration, improve communication and make property transactions easier to manage for all parties involved.
openmoove has spent the last 18 months building and refining its product, testing it with early customers and securing commercial interest from major estate agency groups and conveyancers. The investment will now enable the business to scale up its team, accelerate go-to-market activity and roll out the platform more widely.
openmoove has received a £350,000 equity investment from the Wales Technology Fund, managed by the Development Bank of Wales, matched by a £335,000 investment from HAATCH, the early-stage venture firm, and a group of Welsh angel investors. The deal marks the second time HAATCH and the Development Bank have invested together.
The funding is expected to create six jobs in Cardiff in the coming months as openmoove builds a small, expert team to support the next stage of growth.
Ross McKenzie, Chief Executive at openmoove, said:
“We’ve spent the last 18 months building the product, working closely with estate agents, conveyancers and mortgage brokers, and proving there is real demand for a better way to manage the property transaction process. This investment gives us the backing to scale up, build our team in Cardiff and start rolling the platform out more widely.
“We’re proud to be building openmoove in Wales. This is a Welsh business, founded by two people who have grown up and built their careers here, and we’re excited to be creating jobs in Cardiff as we move into the next phase of growth.”
Cai Gwinnutt added:
“Our focus has been on creating technology that fits around the systems professionals already use, rather than forcing them to change behaviour or adopt a completely new way of working. We’ve developed a market-ready product, tested it with early customers and are now in a strong position to accelerate our growth.
“This funding allows us to keep building with intent — expanding the team, strengthening the platform and taking a product that will improve the way property transactions happen.”
openmoove’s platform integrates with the internal systems already used by property professionals, creating a single source of truth and common communication layer without requiring users to adopt an entirely new interface. The company’s aim is to simplify and improve one of the most stressful and time-consuming parts of the home-moving journey, while helping service providers work more efficiently.
The business is rooted firmly in Wales. Both founders were born and raised in Wales and have built their careers here, with the company now headquartered in Cardiff.
McKenzie brings extensive experience in the property sector, having held senior roles at Purplebricks and Countrywide before founding Cardiff-based estate agency Isla-Alexander, which he later sold to TAUK (The Agency UK) in 2025. Cai Gwinnutt, openmoove’s CTO, brings 20 years of experience across startups and engineering, with previous roles including OnExamination, Amplyfi, Cyber Innovation Hub and Tramshed Tech.
The £20 million Wales Technology Seed Fund II offers equity investments between £100,000 and £350,000 are available for Welsh tech businesses and those relocating to Wales at proof of concept stage. Since 2017, the Development Bank of Wales has funded more than 300 innovative tech ventures with over £97 million, unlocking a further £210 million in co-investment.
