Turning Old Into Gold: €100M for Retrofitting Buildings

WHY THIS MATTERS

The announcement that InRento has officially crossed €100 million in total funded investments represents a major victory for brownfield real estate crowdfunding and the commercial viability of sustainable property development in Europe. Historically, real estate crowd-lending platforms have been plagued by structural default risks, often stemming from speculative, “greenfield” (built from scratch) residential projects that run into severe supply chain delays, planning rejections, and inflated post-pandemic financing rates.

By implementing a strict, asset-backed mandate that completely bans new-build funding, the Vilnius-headquartered platform has achieved an extraordinary operational feat: a verified 0% default rate across 177 funded projects since its inception in 2020. InRento focuses exclusively on the conversion, renovation, and adaptive reuse of existing underutilized structures (such as converting vacant office blocks into modern co-living assets or boutique hospitality spaces). This methodology drastically compresses project delivery timelines, lowers execution uncertainty, and satisfies increasingly stringent European Union Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) building performance regulations. For its growing community of active investors, this de-risked approach has successfully unlocked €30.72 million in returned capital and over €9.74 million in combined net profits.

InRento, a licensed European digital investment platform that focuses on upgrading existing buildings, has proven that sustainability can be profitable.

InRento reached €100 million in total investment across its portfolio and returned more than €30 million of capital to investors without a single failed project, earning them €9.74 million of combined profit. Instead of funding greenfield developments, InRento backs only the conversion, renovation, or reuse of buildings. 

Reusing existing structures instead of building from scratch leads to shorter and more predictable project timelines. As completed projects freed up investors’ funds for new opportunities, they also benefited from higher profits overall. 

“We’re seeing a shift in favor of conversion projects over new developments,” says Gustas Germanavicius, founder and CEO of InRento. “With construction costs, timelines, and financing rates all higher than in previous years, conversions often present a more efficient and lower-risk model.” 

International growth highlights demand for sustainable real estate 

InRento continues expanding into international markets, where interest in sustainable real estate projects continues to increase. The platform now operates in eight European Union countries, with more than half of new investments taking place outside Lithuania. 

“This milestone reflects something bigger than our portfolio: it tells us where European investors are heading: toward markets with strong fundamentals and assets with a clear, visible story,” says Germanavicius. 

“By reusing existing structures, developers reduce build time and uncertainty. Investors also appreciate the faster cash flow and clearer exit paths these projects provide compared to long-term speculative developments.” 

Results from these new markets support the view that conversion and renovation projects do not only lower environmental impact, they also offer opportunities for stable, measurable profit as real estate continues to change across Europe. 

Sustainable conversions set the path for growth 

The company plans to maintain its focus on conversions and renovations going forward, using strict project selection and risk assessment. The company’s track record, with no uncompleted projects, continues to support investor confidence and steady portfolio growth. 

“We do not fund new-build projects,” says Bernardas Preikšaitis, Managing Director of InRento. “Our approach is careful and based on clear risk assessment. Every project must be backed by real assets. The strong track record we have built is thanks to our focus on reliability and results.”

With stable foundations of completed projects and consistent returns, InRento will continue to look for sustainable, lower-risk deals as the demand for sustainable real estate grows in Europe. This approach aims not only to increase profitability but also to encourage a wider move toward sustainable property investments. 

FF NEWS TAKE

InRento is quietly redrawing the map for European retail property exposure by capitalizing on a massive, continent-wide macroeconomic shift. Under the leadership of founder and CEO Gustas Germanavičius—recently recognized on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list—InRento has systematically expanded its operational footprint from a localized Lithuanian startup into a diversified European powerhouse spanning eight EU nations, including recent high-yield rollouts in Romania and Finland.

The company’s operational moat relies on its unique European Crowdfunding Service Provider (ECSP) license issued under strict Bank of Lithuania supervision. This regulatory framework allows InRento to offer retail investors a conservative, institutional-grade “buy-to-let” entry point starting at just €500. Every single loan is insulated by a first-rank physical mortgage on an existing, income-generating asset. In a compressed real estate market where developers face high capital constraints from traditional commercial banks, InRento fills a crucial mid-market financing gap (arranging structured loans between €1 million and €5 million). By delivering a predictable, inflation-hedged average annual return of 11.76% paid out monthly, InRento is proving that sustainability isn’t an expensive luxury for property investors—it is the most defensive, yield-stable asset class on the market.