Vuabl raises £220k pre-seed to roll out smartphone LIDAR property condition reporting
This article covers Vuabl, a proptech startup that has raised £220,000 in a pre-seed funding round from STAC Invest to roll out smartphone-based property condition reporting. The development aims to help landlords and social housing providers collect auditable 3D and condition data using phone LIDAR to support compliance with tightening energy performance and housing standards.
Vuabl, a proptech startup, has raised £220,000 in a pre-seed funding round from STAC Invest to roll out smartphone-based property condition reporting. The company uses the LIDAR sensors found in modern phones to create 3D models, estimate energy performance and flag maintenance issues—tools intended to help landlords and social housing providers meet tightening regulatory requirements without specialist survey equipment.
Why it matters
UK landlords and housing providers face rising pressure on energy efficiency and housing standards. Tools that turn routine inspections into structured, auditable data can reduce the time and cost of compliance while highlighting safety and repair needs earlier. Vuabl’s pilot with Glasgow’s Wheatley Group, which manages 65,000 homes, gives the product a real-world testbed in social housing, a sector where regulatory scrutiny and retrofit needs are particularly acute.
Inside the product
Vuabl’s software captures spatial and environmental data using phone LIDAR and other on-device sensors. The output includes 3D property models, indicators of structural condition, and early detection of damp or mould. It also produces outputs intended to inform energy performance estimates such as EPC-related data. The approach is designed to remove the need for specialist scanning hardware on routine inspections and to integrate condition data into landlords’ asset and compliance workflows.
Who are the investors?
The round was backed by STAC Invest, which provided the £220,000 pre-seed funding. The company says the investment will support further pilots and expansion to housing providers that must meet new regulatory obligations on energy efficiency and tenant safety. Founder commentary in the announcement also points to STAC’s help with structuring enterprise deals and navigating larger, often US-based appraisal operations during Vuabl’s early customer wins.
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Founder perspective
In the announcement, Blair Stirling, Co-founder at Vuabl, said:
We are a startup taking on some of the biggest property management businesses in the US, companies doing 70,000 to 90,000 appraisals a month, more than most Scottish surveyors handle in an entire year. Navigating those relationships, structuring proposals, managing enterprise integrations is a whole other world. STAC came in at exactly the right time. They have helped us understand how to manage complex deals, how to handle competitive assessment processes, and how to position ourselves in a market that operates very differently to the UK. We have made it through multiple rounds with major US clients and we have proposals on the table right now. That doesn’t happen without the right support behind you.
The bigger picture
Vuabl’s approach sits at the intersection of proptech and the broader push to decarbonise and upgrade the UK housing stock. Using smartphone sensors to gather consistent, repeatable data reflects a wider trend of shifting simple inspection workflows onto low-cost mobile tools. For housing providers and local authorities, such tools promise faster, cheaper baseline data for retrofit planning and compliance reporting.
The deal also signals investor interest in pragmatic proptech solutions that address regulatory pain points in social housing. As energy performance rules and tenant-safety standards evolve across the UK and Europe, expect more startups aiming to replace ad-hoc inspections with standardised digital records.
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