The United Kingdom-based Trusted Housesitters pet sitting network has closed on $10 million in funding.
The Series A funding led by Rockpool Investments will be used to build awareness among pet owners and avid travelers in the U.S., with emphasis on expansion in California, according to a press release.
More from the release:
The announcement coincides with a growing demand for pet sitting solutions, fueled by the approximate 23 million U.S. pandemic pet adoptions. Paired with an enhanced desire to travel, owners are seeking alternatives to boarding pets in unfamiliar environments that can cause animals and pet parents to suffer from stress and separation anxiety.
Enter Trusted Housesitters — a pet sitting platform disrupting the kennel & boarding industry by providing an affordable, loving pet care solution that connects thousands of pet lovers worldwide through their mutual love for animals. Founded in the United Kingdom and well known around the world, Trusted Housesitters is active in over 130 countries and has been gaining strong traction and revenue at double the pre-pandemic rate.
According to the American Pet Products Association, $103B (a historic high) was spent on pet industry expenditures in 2020, with $8B going toward boarding, pet sitting, and walking services alone. Driven, in large part, by pandemic adoption trends, predictions for 2021 are even higher.
“There is no better time than now to invest in a business with such huge growth potential as Trusted Housesitters,” said Guy Ellis, Investment Director at Rockpool. “To see a British company taking the initiative; allowing pet owners to travel with confidence as the world opens up once more, is just the sort of good-news story that everyone needs at the moment.”
By becoming a member of Trusted Housesitters, pet owners have access to unlimited vacation pet sitting for $129 per year, provided by a network of caring, pet-loving sitters who offer their services for free, in exchange for a welcoming place to stay on their unique travel lifestyles.
“We are excited to grow our membership base in the United States and across the world and assure new and existing pet owners that they can travel without worry by knowing a verified sitter is caring for their animals as if they were their own,” explained Mathew Prior, CEO of TrustedHousesitters. “Our sitters provide genuine one-to-one love and care in the comfort of the pets’ home, so owners don’t have to worry about making their beloved pets feel anxious about being separated from their own familiar and safe environment.”
Trusted Housesitters is also proud to announce the appointment of Brock Weatherup to their executive board. As CEO of Metamorphosis Partners and PetCo’s former EVP, Weatherup has been a driving force in the United States pet care industry and brings with him his expertise in this growth market and is also an investor in this Series A round.
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