Habito, the UK’s digital mortgage broker, has managed to raise £5.5 million in Series A funding led by Silicon Valley-based Ribbit Capital, with existing investor Mosaic Ventures also participating.
Habito plans to use the new inflow of capital to step up its rapid growth, improve upon the technology behind its award-winning service and change the face of the outdated mortgage industry for millions of homeowners and new buyers across the country.
Making the scores of Britons either overpaying on their mortgage or terrified to even start the application process their target, habito has developed a simple, fast and transparent way to get people the best mortgage possible. Since launching in April 2016, habito has helped more than 20,000 people better understand their mortgage and has completed £50 million in mortgage applications.
Habito’s success until today is symbolic of a shift in how consumers want to engage with financial services. Over 90% of habito’s customers prefer using live chat over a phone conversation to complete and submit their mortgage application.
Habito has also developed a revolutionary chatbot, Digital Mortgage Adviser, using artificial intelligence, which has succeeded in halving the average amount of time spent on each case. Their team of industry-leading mortgage experts form a strong foundational backup since they are always on hand to answer questions. With access to over 10,000 mortgage products across a wide-range of lenders, they can find the best possible deal for the customer.
Over the next 12 months, habito plans to further develop its machine learning capabilities by creating a fully automated end-to-end platform which will enable it to offer new services, such as real-time mortgage approvals and automatic alerts when a better mortgage deal becomes available to registered customers.
Daniel Hegarty, Founder, and CEO of habito, said:
The amazing response we’ve received from customers has proved what we always knew – there’s a huge opportunity to make the experience of getting a mortgage simpler, more transparent and a lot less painful. The industry has suffered from a lack of innovation for decades and the outdated, paper-based manual processes aren’t fit for 21st century homeowners. Our technology empowers people to take control of their personal finances and protect themselves against getting or staying on the wrong mortgage.
He professed excitement at building up the business even further and delivering new services that bring with them the “best mortgage experience possible”.
Micky Malka, founder and general partner, Ribbit Capital said:
We believe habito has the leadership, business model and technology expertise to shake up the mortgage industry in unprecedented ways. Mortgages are the biggest personal debt most people take on in their lifetime, and habito brings a level of transparency that customers value and expect. I’m confident that Daniel and his team have the right vision to change the mortgage industry for the better. We look forward to supporting them during this period of exponential growth.
East London based habito allows customers access to over 60 lenders in real-time, and helps them complete the entire application online, unlike traditional brokers, where the process drags out over several weeks. The start-up has now raised a total of £8.2 million, with Ribbit Capital joining a substantial list of seed and angel investors including Mosaic Ventures, Transferwise CEO Taavet Hinrikus, Funding Circle’s founder Samir Desai, and Yuri Milner.
The startup has now raised a total of £8.2 million, with Ribbit Capital joining a substantial list of seed and angel investors including Mosaic Ventures, Transferwise CEO Taavet Hinrikus, Funding Circle’s founder Samir Desai, and Yuri Milner.
