Fintech has evolved into a landscape of specialized micro-services, including buy-now-pay-later loans and payment processing systems. In this fragmented environment, Just Move In, a U.K.-based startup, has identified an opportunity within the often-overlooked home setup process. The company has secured an $8 million Series A funding round led by Eos Ventures, a global insurtech VC. This strategic backing will enable Just Move In to expand into embedded financial services.
The company aims to simplify services like securing credit and insurance products, and projects to manage over 400,000 home moves by 2025. The key is that while comparison sites provide options for utilities and insurance, they often create a fragmented experience for users. Just Move In offers a single platform, streamlining the management of multiple services.
Additional investors in the funding round include Wayra, Telefónica’s innovation arm, and Second Century Ventures. The FSE Group and angel investors such as Simon Rogerson and Chris Hulatt, the founders of Octopus Group, also continue to support the venture. The company’s previous funding round was a £4 million seed round in 2022, which equates to approximately $5 million at current rates.
Just Move In integrates services from partners including Openrent, the largest lettings agency in the U.K and Hamptons, a real estate agent. The startup also utilizes Alto, a residential property software, data, and insight company, as well as Anyvan. “When you move in, there are dozens of services that need to be connected such as council tax, water, sewage, gas, energy, broadband, home insurance. The list goes on,” co-founder Ross Nichols said in an interview with TechCrunch. “We have built a platform that helps to streamline that process.”
Just Move In uses information about the property sourced from the estate agent’s CRM. The platform then analyzes the services available to the user. Nichols explained, “So you come into our journey, and rather than having to end up on a dozen plus different websites to complete all those transactions and repeat your payment details, you do it once, and it’s set up for you.” He added, “The main benefit for the customer is they’re saving a huge amount of time and it’s free service. We get paid in the same way that a price comparison site works. So we are competing indirectly now with the big price comparison sites, but we’re embedded into the flow of the move.”
Currently managing over 300,000 moves in the U.K., which accounts for approximately 10% of the market, Just Move In is planning a European expansion, according to Nichols in the TechCrunch interview. James Tootell, Partner at Eos Ventures, stated, “Just Move In’s innovative approach to combining home services with financial products represents the future of consumer-focused FinTech.”
