Catalano continues upscaling with stake in business connections service Beevo
Antony Catalano, the owner and executive chairman of Australian Community Media has confirmed his investment in Beevo, a business connections service, as it continues to upscale its movements in the commercial real estate sector.
Beevo was previously a joint venture with Domain, bought by Catalano while he was CEO. After he resigned in 2018, he and the founders of Beevo, James Nooney and Samuel Daish took control of the company back from Domain.
Beevo’s board also includes Catalano’s close former colleague, Greg Hywood. Hywood was previously Fairfax CEO and is now chair of the industry group Free TV.
Catalano told Mumbrella last week that ACM had taken a stake in Beevo again because it is the only business in the country “that services the connection needs of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs)”.
The service connects businesses to “essential services”, including energy, internet, EFTPOS, and more, when they lease or purchase a commercial property. The stake in the business was not disclosed by ACM.
Catalano called the deal a “win-win”, with ACM’s ability to “help educate and drive awareness of the Beevo offering to our audience of 6.4 million Australians every month while Beevo’s offering will provide not only a great service but will deliver true cost savings in essential services for many of our business clients.”
“Investment in a company like Beevo deepens our relationships with these businesses as we look to provide assistance beyond the traditional advertising solutions ACM has historically offered. The more knowledge we gain on our clients the more we can tailor solutions to help their businesses long term.”
Catalano continued: “The team has achieved impressive growth in challenging times for many businesses and we believe Beevo will give us a critical touchpoint in the commercial property market and will also contribute to our ambitions across the broader group.”
Daish, who is currently chief commercial officer said: “We’re excited by Antony and Alex’s investment and the strategic opportunity other businesses in the IMP group offer us as we continue our growth.”
Catalano
“The partnership with ACM allows us to market our cost-saving service across their digital and print publications at a time when most businesses are experiencing a rising cost base.”
“Additionally, it gives us the ability to continue our investment in building a meaningful technology solution for our commercial agency partners.”
The investment comes directly through IMP, which is Catalano and his business partner Alex Waislitz’s real estate digital media investment vehicle, also holding equity in Real Estate View and Propic. It was reported last week that the pair were set to increase their stake in the former to 72% last week., ACM confirmed to Mumbrella that the deal went through on Friday.
Catalano spoke to Mumbrella last week about his plans for scaling up the digital media side of his business, in order to capitalise on the “$250 billion real estate market”.
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Calum Jaspan was news editor at Mumbrella, based in Melbourne. He was also the producer and host of the Mumbrellacast. He left Mumbrella in May 2023.
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