A Newcastle University graduate recently received a six-figure investment to help grow his start-up business. The company aims to help tenants, landlords and letting agencies manage bills more easily in shared rented accommodation.
Chris Dawson co-founded One Utility Bill after experiencing first-hand the difficulties facing utilities companies and letting agents. After graduating from Newcastle University he took part in its inaugural Founderships programme before joining the Ignite accelerator programme earlier this year. The company’s platform was built by Dale Knight, co-founder and CTO, who has been working with Chris since the company’s inception.
After successfully completing the Ignite programme the pair went on to raise a £150k investment round, led by venture capital firm Northstar Ventures. The company also has the backing of several Angel investors. In addition to creating 4 new full time roles, the funding will allow One Utility Bill to pursue its ambitious growth plans.
Rebecca Roberts, Investment Manager at Northstar Ventures, said: “Chris has taken his experience working in the utilities and lettings industry and used it to develop a service that has the potential to completely disrupt the process of paying bills in rented accommodation. The company has seen significant interest from letting agencies and landlords since it began trading, and the investment from the Finance for Business Proof of Concept Fund will help it continue to grow.”
One Utility Bill is a services and software company that simplifies utility bill organisation and payment for tenants in rented accommodation. By sourcing utility providers for its clients, and allowing bills to be paid as part of an ‘all inclusive’ cost with rent, the company is able to save tenants money and add value to rented properties for landlords.
In the UK last year tenants spent over £16 billion on utilities with £1.2 billion still unpaid. Last year over £800m in bad debt was written off by the big six energy providers in the UK, whilst the total for the water industry was estimated to be £328m.
Chris said: “We built the One Utility Bill platform to reduce the stress and confusion tenants often feel when paying bills in shared accommodation. By simplifying the process, we can reduce the risk of bad debt, as well as lowering the cost of customer acquisition for utilities providers. We’ve also found that it is often more convenient for landlords and letting agents to offer an ‘all-inclusive’ price for rented properties.”
One Utility Bill was advised during the deal by the corporate team at Watson Burton. Paul Wigham, associate and funding specialist at Watson Burton said: “I’ve known Chris and the team since they first joined the Ignite programme. It’s great to be able to support the progress of a forward-thinking company from its inception at university, through an accelerator programme and now a successful funding round.
“I’m sure that they will continue to enjoy success, and we look forward to working with One Utility Bill in the future.”
Jackie Wade, the Rise Up Business Adviser who mentored Chris through the Founderships programme, said: “Chris was great to work with and he had a clear vision from the start about what he wanted One Utility Bill to become. He’s made really good use of his network, tapping into expertise to support his business journey, whilst also forging ahead with his own ideas and creativity.
“He has shown the tenacity and ability to overcome some significant challenges and I’m delighted to see One Utility Bill secure this investment package.”
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