Member Article

Startup that's making ordering a boiler as easy as ordering a takeaway has raised £1.9m

London-based startup Hometree that is taking the fight to the big six energy companies has raised £1.9m in seed funding from a line-up of major venture capital firms.

LocalGlobe, DN Capital, Oxford Capital and FJ Labs have all contributed to the seed round, along with individual city backers including Jon Moulton, to support the startup’s launch of its boiler installation service with the ultimate aim of becoming a fully-fledged energy company.

The startup has identified boiler installation as the first logical stepping stone to this ultimate aim, with over 80% of new boiler installations in the £4bn boiler market still carried out by independent tradespeople, making it difficult for consumers to source trusted installers.

To this end, Hometree is building a network of trusted and vetted installers, initially across the South East of England, with the aim of bringing the ease and value of ecommerce offerings to the traditionally offline-only boiler market.

At the heart of its approach is tech-enabled solutions such as online consultations with boiler experts which can be carried out using a smartphone or tablet, negating the need for face-to-face appointments, while a fully transparent fee structure and simple online application form are meant to take the confusion out of the process.

Simon Phelan, Co-Founder and CEO, said: “Installing a boiler remains a painful and mostly offline experience for homeowners.

“Much like Eve and Purplebricks have upended their sleepy and over-priced industries of mattresses and estate agency, we intend to disrupt the heating industry with best practices from e-commerce, fair and transparent prices and a great brand.

“We will use this strong foundation as a springboard into the broader home energy space, re-thinking how energy companies interact with consumers from the ground up.”

With the energy setup of all UK households becoming ever more complex as energy companies start to mix smart meters and connected devices with varying energy sources such as solar power, Hometree is hoping to position itself at the forefront of the smarthome energy boom.

George Henry, partner at Local Globe, foresees the initial first moves into the boiler market as a logical first step for the startup’s loftier ambitions to build a 21st century utility company.

He commented: “Across Europe the relationship between energy companies and homeowners is shifting. Hometree is taking a radical new approach to providing services to the home and building a 21st century utility.

“The best companies often start from a very specific pain point. Boiler installation is just the first step on the way for a company that will challenge the incumbents to win the customer relationship and is entirely rethinking the way that houses improve their heating systems.”