Leeds home systems firm raises £20m in funding

Smart home systems installer BOXT accelerates UK expansion plans in heating market after raising £20m in a fresh funding round.

The latest round was led by Brookfield, one of the largest global investors in infrastructure. Brookfield has also invested in residential infrastructure specialists Thermondo in Germany and Enercare in Canada and the U.S.

With its sights set on improving heating efficiency and installing smart home solutions to anyone in the country, whatever their post code, BOXT will use the cash injection to spur UK growth, whilst also supporting the government’s pledge to cut UK emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.

The fundraising follows an initial investment from engineering giant Bosch. Born out of a belief that the heating industry wasn’t fair on consumers, founders Mel Butler, Andy Kerr and Keith Jones launched BOXT in 2017, developing a unique digital platform to simplify and democratise the process for homeowners.

The Leeds headquartered technology company offers consumers an uber-style service for fitting boilers, electric vehicle chargers and air conditioning with accompanying smart home devices such as thermostats, smoke alarms, cameras and speakers.

Removing the need for an on-site visit to quote, BOXT passes on the cost savings made through streamlining processes. Its intuitive online service and trusted army of engineers mean customers can obtain competitive fixed prices and installation within 24 hours.

Unveiling a home cover for existing customers in 2020, a boiler repair solution in 2021, along with smart home packages via its partnership with Google, the business is on course to grow its customer base to over 300,000 households by 2025.

This latest investment round will also allow the business to continue to develop its globally leading technology platform and provide innovative, affordable and reliable home heating solutions.

Growing to over 70 employees since its inception in 2017, BOXT, which has offices in London and Leeds aims to double its workforce in the next 18 months. The digital heating disruptor has amassed a network of over 3,000 engineers, with a view to increasing this to 6,000 by 2023 to meet customer demand.