Online cleaning platform Mopp hoovered up by American buyer Handy

London start-up Mopp has forgone further investment rounds and instead been acquired by US home services company Handy.

On-demand home cleaning providers Mopp are set to become co-branded as ‘powered by Handy’ after being purchased by Handy as part of a move to create a bigger European presence.

New owner Handy was set up by Oisin Hanrahan and Umang Dua in 2012 and has, to date, raised $49 million of venture capital investment. The business was previously known as Handybook before rebranding.

Mopp’s founders, university friends Tom Brooks and Pete Dowds set up their company in 2013 after holding a party and finding it hard to locate a cleaner the next day. The British business itself raised $1.4 million of funding before being acquired, and had other offers for investment and mergers on the table.

According to a statement, the deal is an all-share transaction with Mopp shareholders and investors exchanging shares for equity in Handy.

The two entrepreneurs will continue to run Mopp and Handy operations from London in a market which is predicted to be worth €60 billion, according to Tork 2012. Mopp says that it has seen its users grow by 900 per cent during 2014, with the website now processing 10,000 bookings a month.

Speaking to GrowthBusiness, Dowds says, ‘Back in 2013 when we launched we had a crazy target of reaching £1 million of run rate within a year – as it turns out we beat this a few times over.

‘That really helped us secure the right deal with the right partner for the future – and that was Handy.’

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Hanrahan, CEO and co-founder of Handy, says that Mopp, its third strategic acquisition, was ‘exactly what we were looking for’.

‘They’re a highly driven, innovative team with the same vision and values as Handy,’ he adds.

‘London is a core market for us and with the momentum Mopp has generated, we’re in a really strong position to continue to be the leader in our sector, delivering a great consumer experience to our growing user base.’

Handy, which itself provides on-demand home improvement and cleaning services, is currently available in 27 cities worldwide.

Hunter Ruthven

Hunter Ruthven

Hunter was the Editor for GrowthBusiness.co.uk from 2012 to 2014, before moving on to Caspian Media Ltd to be Editor of Real Business.

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