Ideal Flatmate raises £375,000

Ideal Flatmate raises £375,000 to help users in their search for housemates

Ideal Flatmate, a startup which uses algorithms to help people find compatible housemates, has closed a £375,000 Seed at a post-money valuation of £1.62m.

The London-based firm, set up after its co-founders Tom Gatzen and Rob Imonikhe became increasingly frustrated with the lack of options available to find a suitable flatmate, has now raised £500,000 in total.

With the money, Gatzen and Imonikhe hope to make a series of key hires, boost their user numbers, continue to develop the website and fine-tune their proprietary algorithm.

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Investors in the round include Steve Leach, founder of Bigmouthmedia and chairman of Fetch Media.

“The range of investors who are backing us in this round is incredibly exciting and gives us a huge amount of confidence,” Gatzen commented.

The company was initially seeking to raise £250,000. “To have surpassed our initial target is also a big plus and means we can accelerate our growth plans. I can’t wait to continue to improve the site and take our idea out to a far wider audience,” the entrepreneur added.

Since its launch six months ago, Ideal Flatmate claims to have an average of 25,000 monthly users, over 15,000 people registered as flathunters and more than 2,000 property listings live on its site.

The company also says it is looking to grow aggressively, with registrations set to hit 150,000 by the end next year.

“For us, it’s always been about personalities, not just properties,” said Imonikhe. “The latest round of developments will enhance the user experience considerably. We’re enormously encouraged by the reception we received from the investor community and now are focused on delivering on our targets.”