Global expansion for Portsmouth software company

Steve Rad of Inventory Base at North Harbour
Picture: Ian Hargreaves (160838-3) — Steve Rad of Inventory Base at North Harbour Picture: Ian Hargreaves (160838-3)

InventoryBase, at the Acorn Business Centre, Northarbour Road, Portsmouth, has recruited three new staff and is soon to launch in South Africa.

Its software makes creating, recalling and comparing property inventory and inspection reports as streamlined as possible and it has a mobile and web application.

Creator and managing director Steve Rad said: ‘We were surprised at how popular the product became with the largest agents and providers throughout the UK.

‘Property inventory reports are highly-detailed documents that protect landlords and tenants by describing the internal and external condition of a property before the tenant moves in, and compare it to when the tenant moves out to fairly apportion liability for damages.

‘This means money can be legally claimed from the tenant’s deposit.’

Mr Rad, from Copnor, started his business under the name of Radweb while he was at the University of Portsmouth almost 10 years ago.

After enjoying success in the UK, it was a matter of time before international entrepreneurs approached the InventoryBase team.

Last year, it launched in the USA and Canada, under the name of Property Inspect.

‘We thoroughly enjoyed the US and Canadian rollout – it was a chance to identify market opportunities from the ground up,’ he said.

‘The US and Canadian launch spurred interest from across the globe, including South America, Australia, New Zealand, Dubai and South Africa.’

This interest has come to fruition, as Property Inspect has extended its services to Cape Town, Johannesburg and other major cities across South Africa.

To make sure the South African version of the software fitted its audience, the team worked with their South African partners, tweaking every aspect of the system to optimise its usability abroad.

Mr Rad said he was looking to expand to other foreign markets. He also has his own advice for businesses looking to achieve similar success.

He said: ‘Go to market quickly and have a pig-headed discipline and persistence. If you believe in yourself and your business, that will rub off on your customers.’