A Tyneside business triggered by its founders' experience of sharing a student flat will create 40 new jobs after secured a £1.6m investment.
Newcastle-based One Utility Bill – which simplifies utility bills for tenants, landlords and letting agents – has raised the significant sum in its second fundraise within a year.
The follow-on investment round was led by investors DSW Ventures, the venture capital business of the Dow Schofield Watts group, alongside the North East Innovation Fund, supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Northstar Ventures.
The company was founded in 2014 by Chris Dawson and Dale Knight, and inspired by Mr Dawson’s experience of living in a shared flat whilst a student at Newcastle University.
The latest investment - its fifth fundraise - takes the funding raised by the business to date to around £5m.
It will allow the company to improve scale and efficiency, further enhance its technology and more than double its current workforce of 35 employees by creating 40 new roles in the North East in the next year.
One Utility Bill consolidates household bills into one simple monthly payment, giving customers a support service and allows costs to be split between housemates.
The company now manages energy, water, broadband and media with an annual value of over £15m on behalf of thousands of households across the 海角视频.
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Mr Dawson said: “We’re delighted to raise this follow-on round from our investors, our second investment in a challenging but very rewarding 12-month period. This is a huge vote of confidence in our business and reflects the incredible progress that the One Utility Bill team has achieved over the last 12 months.
“We’ll be using the funds to further accelerate our customer growth and invest in our technology.”
DSW Ventures, the 海角视频-regional focused venture capital business, extended its investment in One Utility Bill to £2m.
Keith Benson, founding partner of DSW Ventures, said: “When we first invested during the first lockdown in 2020, we were very confident in the resilience of the One Utility Bill business and the team’s capability to navigate the crisis. They have substantially exceeded our expectations – growing the business significantly, increasing automation and creating a compelling proposition for its customers.”
Ian Richards, director of Northstar Ventures said: “The co-founders impressed us with their vision and drive from the start, and, having worked with Chris and Dale since 2015, we have been pleased to see the way they have grown the business.
"We are delighted to help fund the business to the next level and look forward to supporting them in scaling up further.”