BDO M&A Leisure advised TrustedHousesitters, the world’s largest house and pet sitting platform, on its investment by Rockpool.
Founded by Andy Peck and Rachel Martin in 2010, operates in over 130 countries. Since launch, the platform has facilitated more than two million nights of house sitting, saving its members over £170m in accommodation and pet care costs.
The transaction was led by Harry Stoakes, Tom Barnard and Sam Otterburn and builds upon BDO’s online leisure credentials; being the team’s 20th M&A transaction in the last 24 months.
TrustedHousesitters is an easy to use platform that removes travel friction for pet owners whilst providing both exceptional value and experiences for owners and sitters. We expect sharing economy businesses like TrustedHousesitters to thrive as consumers continue to adopt these models.
Harry Stoakes, Corporate Finance Partner - M&A, BDO
The investment comes at a time of significant growth for the Company, so far this year TrustedHousesitters launched their first commercial partnership with easyJet, as well as continuing their expansion across the USA and Australia. This success has enabled the company to double from 25 to 50 staff in 12 months.
This is an exciting development in the TrustedHousesitters journey. We solve the problems of pet owners worldwide who want their pets to have the best care when they can’t be there.
Rockpool has recognised TrustedHousesitters’ stellar growth driven by the network which provides a global solution to a common problem. We are looking forward to working with them taking the TrustedHousesitters solution to the next level.
Tim Lyons, Managing Director, TrustedHousesitters
The investment sees Rockpool acquire a major stake in the business, with the current TrustedHousesitters executive team continuing to run the business while the founders Andy Peck and Rachel Martin each take a non-executive director role.
BDO performed a full wrap around service including lead advisory and financial due diligence.