Company overview: Hometree is looking to disrupt the traditional boiler and central heating insurance market, using technology to make the process simpler, more transparent, and cheaper. The business provides insurance, cover and maintenance products, as well as replacement boilers, direct to consumers and through partnerships. The market remains highly fragmented, with consumers often dissatisfied with the price and quality offered by the larger providers.
Our initial investment: Literacy Capital led an early growth funding round, when the business was a little over a year old. We supported the CEO & Founder, as the business transitioned from purely focussing on the home heating market, through its expansion into the Home Cover or Home Emergency Insurance market – pitting them up against industry giants British Gas and HomeServe.
Building value: Hometree completed the evolution of its business model, insourcing its network of engineers, vastly improving its unit economics, and positioning it strongly against the incumbent market players. It also completed an acquisition of a competitor, Your Repair, doubling the size of the business. The business underwent an interim funding round and larger, Series B fundraise in 2022. With the additional capital, the team is now looking to focus resources towards accelerating growth. Strengthening the core Home Cover business, whilst also positioning Hometree at the forefront of the decarbonisation of the home. The business will also look to further automate some of its processes and functions, improving the user experience and ensuring the already high customer satisfaction levels are maintained. Hometree’s leadership team has been built-out over time, with the addition of a high-calibre Chair, CFO, and COO.
Website link: www.hometree.co.uk
Completion: December 2017
Exit: December 2022