Student accommodation platform UniHomes has acquired student bill sharing provider Split The Bills.
The UniHomes platform works with partner letting agents across 25 UK cities, currently offering over 14,000 student homes. With a 60 per cent increase in users and 75 per cent rise in letting agent partnerships in the past 12-months further growth is expected as the Company expands to 40-plus cities by the end of 2021.
The acquisition of student utilities company Split The Bills is set to support the next stage of UniHomes' growth.
UniHomes was founded in 2015 by Phil Greaves, Bradley Cox and Luca Mori. Phil Greaves said: "Our goal is to become synonymous as the go-to accommodation portal for students, providing the best choice of available properties with the added bonus that bills are included. Our vast network of letting agent partners recognise the power of our offering.
"Adding UniHomes to an agent’s list of portal partners opens the market up to them considerably and, even better, we're completely free of charge to agents."
Bradley Cox said “2020 has been a challenging year for everyone, this acquisition would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the teams in both businesses. I’m very proud of what we have achieved over the past 5 years. With the addition of Split The Bills, we look forward to the next chapter of our journey and we’re very excited for 2021! We would like to thank Castle Square for their expertise and involvement throughout this process”
Castle Square is an independent, specialist mid-market corporate finance boutique operating from offices in Sheffield and Leeds. Castle Square has a proven track record of successfully delivering corporate finances services on a wide range of clients based nationally and internationally.
Director Steve Bell advised the UniHomes on the transaction. Steve Bell said, “UniHomes has achieved exceptional growth and established a clear position in the student letting market in the short time since incorporation. The growth has been driven by a clear strategy established by the Shareholders which will deliver significant further growth as the Company targets new markets. Split The Bills has an excellent reputation and brand identity and the acquisition of Split The Bills extends the Company’s service offering.”
Freeths is a leading multi-disciplinary law firm operating nationally from 13 offices throughout England provide expert legal advice to clients across the UK and also internationally.
Led by Corporate Partner Peter Crawford and supported by Associate Raj Singh, the Freeths corporate team provided legal advice and support to UniHomes on the transaction.
Peter Crawford said, “It was clear from the outset of the transaction that there were strong synergies between these two businesses which made the deal such a good fit for both parties. This is a deal which benefits all stakeholders and the student letting market which they serve.”
