Service Business of the Year 2016

Start-up name: Housekeep
Founder: Avin Rabheru
Started in: 2014
Based in: London
Business description: A booking platform for professional home cleaners

The on-demand cleaning service that benefits both the consumer and the cleaner, Housekeep was crowned Service Business of the Year at the 2016 Startups Awards.

Having reached more than 10,000 customers and 1,000 cleaners in just two years since launch – delivering in the region of 10,000 cleans every single month – it’s easy to see why the start-up got the judges backing.

Founded by former venture capital investor Avin Rabheru, Housekeep’s platform enables time-poor London professionals to book a one-off, weekly or fortnightly visit from one of its vetted cleaners for £12.50 per hour.

Housekeep enables its “housekeepers” to manage their working lives through its specially created smartphone app, and covers all their travel expenses – which it claims has saved cleaners more than £260,000 in travel costs since launch.

Headed up by a man who describes vacuuming, stacking dishwashers & ironing as “serious passions”, the three-time Startups 100-listed company has seen its service expand rapidly across the capital and is now looking to expand nationwide. With an estimated $4bn market in the UK alone, Housekeep is a company with huge potential.

With on-demand rubbish collection service Clearabee named highly commended and digital product studio Play Consulting awarded the commended accolade, Housekeep faced stiff competition to take home the title.