The EG interview with Majed Chaaraoui and Jack Sibley about Insurami, a tech firm that rips up the rule book on traditional deposits and promises to offer commercial real estate tenants an alternative to locking up their cash, is a fascinating read. The goal of the company is to unlock more than £10bn currently sitting stagnant within real estate. The business effectively operates as a large-scale deposit guarantee platform and is currently used by companies including the Howard De Walden Estate, Level39 and Huckletree. Last month the platform announced a £42m raise and now plans to expand; within the offices sector where it is currently focused, and into new asset classes including retail and industrial.

Insurami’s business model is simple. Rather than forking out a hefty deposit in one go, tenants pay a monthly fee to the platform for a deposit guarantee. This then pays out to the landlord – up to the maximum cover value of £600,000 – if there is a default on the lease. It will be interesting to see whether this takes off in the commercial real estate market.