NCM is delighted that our client Episode 1 has led a £2m funding round investing in London-based startup, Perchpeek. The company originally called itself the “Tinder for renters” and provided a platform to help people find their ideal property. It has since adapted to become a relocation service after noticing that the majority of its users were people moving to another country. The app helps people to organise housing, admin, guarantors and offers support on any other relocation requirements. The coronavirus pandemic brought new opportunities for remote working and as a result the company saw a spike in engagement. Perchpeek helped 1,000 people to relocate in 2020 as people realised they could now work from anywhere. The relocation market was valued at $29bn in 2017 and is set to grow at 3.3% by 2024, with remote working allowing more people to consider working abroad.
Perchpeek will use the £2m to expand into more regions: the company is currently present in 47 countries and will judge where to go next, based on its clients’ needs. Other relocation services are usually based in local offices, where a regional expert will assist with moves. The company will also use the investment to perfect the app itself, which still involves some human input, whilst parts of it rely on artificial intelligence.
Perchpeek’s founder Paul Bennett says, “Just after March lockdowns hit, and we thought we’d probably made the biggest mistake ever, people couldn’t even leave their homes, let alone move country. I think we moved someone from the Gaza Strip to Berlin last week, we’ve moved people from Trinidad and Tobago, all sorts of places. And in terms of where people are moving from, the biggest countries are India and Brazil, you’d be surprised at how big the Brazilian diaspora in Ireland is! I think over the next 10 years we’ll see a lot more people migrating. Companies are becoming more flexible, countries are becoming more flexible, and workers are becoming more flexible too”
Damien Lane, co-founder and partner at Episode 1, said, “Thousands of companies are grappling with the new world of work where employees are remote and therefore free to live anywhere. Traditional ‘ex-pat’ solutions are far too localised and expensive to support this new cadre of relocator and we see the opportunity for Perchpeek to become the leader in supporting the future of migration.”
Source | Sifted