As we wrap up the year, we’re taking a moment to reflect on everything 2024 brought us. From welcoming incredible new teammates to rolling out features that make life easier for our customers, this year has been one for the books. None of it would’ve been possible without you—our customers, team, and partners.
Together, we built trust, stayed curious, centered on the customer, and, of course, mixed in some fun along the way. Here’s how we lived our core values and made 2024 so special:
Features That Make Your Life Easier
At Leasecake, we center on the customer by constantly looking for ways to simplify complex real estate management. In 2024, we rolled out upgrades to save you time, reduce headaches, and help you be accountable for key decisions:
Enhanced Lease Accounting
We know compliance with ASC 842 and IFRS 16 is tough, so we added:
- Notifications when lease measurements change, plus easy side-by-side comparisons.
- Automated handling of early lease terminations—no more manual headaches.
- New reports to track lease liabilities and stay audit-ready.
Cakebot for Lease and Contract Abstraction
We stayed curious by taking AI to the next level! Cakebot now extracts critical details from leases, contracts, and documents—saving you time and money.
Percentage Rent and Sublease Management
We added tools to handle more complex rent agreements, like percentage rent and subleases. Whether you’re calculating rent based on revenue or managing layered agreements, we’ve got you covered.
Recognition and Awards
Building trust with our customers is the foundation of what we do. Here’s a closer look at the accolades we’ve earned:
- 2024 PropTech Breakthrough Award for “Overall Lease Management Company of the Year” (two years in a row!).
- 2024 Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top Franchise Suppliers
- 111 G2 Awards, earned through verified customer feedback on this trusted peer-to-peer software review platform.
Growing Together
We practiced empathy and stayed laser focused on the needs of our customers, and we’re grateful to have welcomed nearly 2,000 new users, surpassing 40,000 locations in Leasecake, including:
- Jersey Mike’s: This rapidly growing sub sandwich chain selected Leasecake as their lease management platform this year, shortly before announcing plans to be acquired by Blackstone Inc. for approximately $8 billion, aiming to accelerate its expansion and enhance technological investments. AP News
- Tropical Smoothie Café: This leading smoothie and healthy food franchise has experienced significant growth, opening 124 new stores and signing over 200 franchise agreements in a recent year, reflecting its robust expansion strategy. Mashed
- LEGO: A globally recognized retail leader, LEGO operates numerous flagship stores worldwide, providing immersive shopping experiences that showcase its products and brand heritage. The company’s real estate strategy focuses on high-traffic locations to maximize brand visibility and customer engagement.
We’re also proud to announce our partnership with Buyer’s Edge Platform, a group purchasing organization representing 100,000 restaurants, whose platform brands touch every corner of the foodservice world and provide value to stakeholders throughout the supply chain.
Across industries like food & beverage, retail, health & fitness, and medtail, businesses are turning to Leasecake to stay compliant, manage growth, and reduce risk as they grow and scale. Whether it’s helping teams handle lease renewals, stay compliant in high-staked regulated environments, plan new locations, or manage costs, we’re proud to support your success.
Growing our Talent
This year, we added some star-studded leadership to our team!
- Larry Lazerwitz (VP, Lease Accounting): Larry is a CPA who specializes in Lease Accounting and has helped build Lease Accounting software that is in use by large, publicly traded companies. Larry will use his experience and passion for details to help us take our already award-winning product to the next level.
- Matt Westwood (Senior Product Manager): An industry vet having spent the past 20 years at JLL, where he helped JLL implement Lease Administration for hundreds of the biggest portfolios in the world. Matt is now a key part of the product team here helping to shape the future of Leasecake’s product.
- Francesca Jabbour (Director of Customer Success): She came to us from Wix, where she built an impressive track record of scaling customer success operations and creating exceptional client experiences.
Major Company News
This year, we closed our Series A extension funding rounds, raising a total of $10 million to fuel our growth and innovation.
In October, EMERGING joined as a strategic investor, bringing their expertise in the restaurant and entertainment space to help us serve our core industries better.
Roark Capital, a $38B PE fund, selected us as their Preferred Partner for lease and location management across all their franchise brands.
In April, PeakSpan Capital and Las Olas Venture Capital led the charge with our Series A extension round, with venture debt provided by Silicon Valley Bank.
Industry Insights: Focusing on Risk Management
In 2024, franchisors and corporate real estate teams are building trust in technology to mitigate risk and enhance operational efficiency. Managing multi-location portfolios comes with high stakes, prompting many businesses to prioritize solutions that safeguard their operations while driving growth. Centralizing lease data and implementing tools for tracking and analyzing portfolio performance have emerged as key strategies.
The broader market also saw a surge in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), with global deal value reaching $2.3 trillion in the first nine months of 2024—a 17% increase from the same period in 2023, according to Financial Times. Private equity firms played a significant role, deploying uninvested capital to secure larger buyouts (Reuters).
In this environment, accurate lease data has become indispensable during due diligence, helping companies evaluate financial obligations and compliance risks. According to Riveron, centralizing lease information not only identifies potential liabilities but also simplifies post-merger integration, ensuring smoother transitions and better-informed decisions.
As risk management continues to take center stage, tools that provide clarity and control over lease portfolios are becoming a critical part of the real estate strategy for businesses navigating this evolving landscape.
Take a look at our 2025 Restaurant Industry Real Estate Outlook for more industry insights.
Looking Ahead
As you can see, this year, we mixed in fun, stayed curious, and worked tirelessly to center on your success. As we look ahead to 2025, we’re excited to keep building on this momentum, introduce more game-changing solutions, and help you manage your portfolio with even greater confidence.
Yes, we take our work seriously, but we know the value of joy and laughter. This year, our team infused fun into everything we did, from creative brainstorming sessions to community celebrations—and yes, even in some AI-generated holiday photos of our leadership team (hopefully you noticed that above!). A team that laughs together works harder to make your experience better.
Thank you for being part of the Leasecake family.
