Home maintenance tech company eyes rapid growth with investment

PatchApp, a home maintenance tech start-up based in Lancashire, has announced that it’s raising £500,000 in a bid to secure another 50,000 customers over the next three years.

The business which was set up by Modern Milkman Co-Founder Paul White and Innovate UK Young Innovator Conor Walsh already has thousands of customers in North Yorkshire, Lancashire and East Yorkshire and previously raised £1m in investment exclusively from Angel Investors and High Net Worth individuals.

The business provides civilian employment opportunities for people leaving the Armed Forces.

PatchApp is an instant book home maintenance platform, initially offering window cleaning, but with trials of other services underway with its existing customer base. It was set up to make it easier to find, book, manage and pay for a window cleaner, but will now expand to include a range of home maintenance instant book services.

Co-Founder Paul White explained: “We’ve been busy testing our tech, getting the service network in place and perfecting our route to market and the next stage for us is about high growth and rapid rollout.

“The uptake has surprised us, but then the market is huge. Already, 4% of any households in areas we operate are signing up and taking a paid subscription, which is higher than we’d thought initially.”

Conor added: “We’ve been really focused on building a tech company that gets to profit quickly. You just can’t afford to live on the never never in today’s economic climate.

“We’ve been really lucky to be so well supported with investment from Angels and High Net Worth individuals and that’s how we hope to complete our investment. This round will see us through to profitability and able to grow healthily from our own profits.

“It’s great that we’re able to support people leaving the Armed Forces into civilian employment too. You want people you trust working on your home and that definitely helps with that.”

The £500,000 investment the business is seeking will be spent on customer acquisition, and it is registered under the Government’s Enterprises Investment Scheme, which gives tax breaks to individuals investing in the business.