Hometree
| ISIN | 🆔 |
|---|---|
| Industry | Boiler installations, smart home services |
| Founded 📆 | 2015 |
| Founder 👔 | Simon Phelan; Andreu Tobella |
| Headquarters 🏙️ | , London , United Kingdom |
Area served 🗺️ | |
| Members | |
Number of employees | |
| 🌐 Website | https://www.hometree.co.uk |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
Hometree is a UK boiler installation and smart home e-commerce business. The company was founded in London, UK, in 2015 by Simon Phelan, an engineer who began his career at Jon Moulton’s private-equity firm Better Capital..[1], and Andreu Tobella, also an engineer who headed up the product team at the British Gas owned subsidiary, Hive. Hometree has received backing from Paul Pindar’s Literacy Capital[2][3], DN Capital, LocalGlobe[4][5][6], AV8 Ventures[7][8], and Oxford Capital.
The company has been listed among Startups Top 100 Start-Up’s in the UK in 2018[9], ranking 15th overall.
Since its founding in 2015, the company has sold and installed thousands of boilers for consumers across the UK[10]
Business model[edit]
How it works[edit]
Hometree embraces technology, enabling customers [11] to be able to find their boiler online or over the phone by answering a few questions about their home and heating requirements. Once they have selected the right boiler, customers can then book in their boiler installation with an accredited Hometree Gas Safe Engineer. If required, engineers complete a video survey before they arrive so that they can carry out the installation efficiently. [11]
Online sales process[edit]
Hometree’s business model also features an online sales process[11]. Customers can select the boiler of their choice at a fixed price once they’ve answered a series of questions about their home. The customer can book an installation date, and place a deposit for the boiler they’ve selected, which is then paid in full once the installation is complete.
Video surveys[12][edit]
After the customer has selected the boiler and paid their deposit, Hometree places customers on a video call, better known as a video survey, to take a closer look at their current boiler, pipework, flue, and other components that make up their central heating system.
Smart home services[edit]
Hometree offers a free smart thermostat with each boiler which can be controlled via a smartphone or tablet from within the home, or outside on an internet connection.
Investors[edit]
Hometree is backed by investors who have been involved in the growth of Purplebricks[13], Shazam, Zoopla, Transferwise, Uber, Eve Sleep, & many more.
Seed funding[14][edit]
June 2017 - £1.9m seed funding from LocalGlobe, DN Capital, Oxford Capital, and FJ Labs.[6][5][4]
January 2018 - £2.9m funding from Paul Pindar[3], chairman of Purplebricks and Eve Sleep. Other investors included Capita board member, Dawn Marriott-Sims[15]; and Anthony Gutman, head of UK at Goldman Sachs.
Series A funding[edit]
September 2018 - £6.5m Series A funding led by AV8 Ventures[7][8][16]
Executive team[17][edit]
- Simon Phelan: CEO/Co-Founder
- Andreu Tobella: CPO/Co-Founder
- Dawn Marriott-Sims: Chairman
- James Kydd: Brand Adviser (alongside role as Marketing Director at Purplebricks)
- Rob Gladwin: Strategic Adviser (former board member of Wolseley UK)
- Paul Lewis: CMO (former Senior Director of Marketing for VoucherCodes)
- David Lee: CFO (former CFO of venture capital-backed StrataJet)
- Daniel Azzopardi: COO (former Managing Director of WatchMaster.com)
- Sam Howson: Head of Sales
History[edit]
Hometree is the answer to increasing market demand for an efficient boiler installer using modern tech to speed up the boiler replacement process, while the traditional method becomes more and more outdated..[18] Late engineer visits, long wait times for boiler replacements, and companies overcharging for their services led to the birth of Hometree with a new refreshing business mode[11]
Products[edit]
Hometree offers a range of both Vaillant and Worcester Bosch gas boilers. As a company, Hometree only installs gas boilers with a high ErP (Energy Related Products) rating, which details the boiler’s efficiency with a letter grade. The range of boilers includes three different types: Combination, system, and regular (also known as conventional or heat only). Each type of boiler applies to different existing central heating system layouts, which can include the current boiler type, if the homeowner currently has a cylinder installed, as well as if the homeowner has a water tank installed in their loft. Hometree quotes customers based on their current central heating system set up to find the best replacement.
As homes become more and more tech-friendly, we’ve seen more smart devices[17] enter the home in the form of virtual assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa, or the introduction of smart doorbells and socket plugs. As part of the growth of smart home[17] tech, Hometree stocks smart thermostats as part of their installation. A smart thermostat allows the customer to be able to schedule their heating and hot water using a smartphone, as well as an entire list of other features.
References[edit]
- ↑ "City heavyweights back energy start-up Hometree". Retrieved 2018-10-30.
- ↑ "Energy startup Hometree gets £2.9m as it gears up for expansion". UKTN (UK Tech News). 2018-01-09. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Energy startup Hometree raises £2.9 million, appoints new chairman". Tech.eu. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Hometree raises £1.9m from four venture capital investors". Retrieved 2018-10-30.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Hometree gets £1.9m from investors including LocalGlobe". UKTN (UK Tech News). 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Energy start-up Hometree clinches £1.9m seed funding - Startups.co.uk: Starting a business advice and business ideas". Startups.co.uk: Starting a business advice and business ideas. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "AV8 Ventures invests £6.5m in Hometree | Business Leader News". Business Leader. 2018-09-28. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Irish-founded start-up Hometree raises €7.2 million in funding". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
- ↑ "15. Hometree - Startups 100 2018 | Startups.co.uk". Startups 100 by Startups.co.uk: Start up a successful business. 2018-05-21. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
- ↑ "Hometree is rated "Excellent" with 9.5 / 10 on Trustpilot". Trustpilot. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 "Startup energy company to target home boiler installation market - HVP Magazine - Heating, Ventilating & Plumbing". hvpmag.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
- ↑ "New start-up lets you video chat with a boiler engineer". This is Money. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
- ↑ "Energy start-up Hometree seeks Purplebricks recipe with Pindar". Sky News. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
- ↑ "Online boiler installation business raises £4.8m in funding - HVP Magazine - Heating, Ventilating & Plumbing". hvpmag.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
- ↑ "Tech enabled boiler installation start-up Hometree raises £2.9m". Startups.co.uk: Starting a business advice and business ideas. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
- ↑ "Hometree Secures $8.5M in Financing | FinSMEs". FinSMEs. 2018-09-27. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 "Smart home services company makes raft of senior hires | Business Leader News". Business Leader. 2018-08-23. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
- ↑ "Subscribe to read". Financial Times. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
Hometree[edit]
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