Ideal Flatmate

Flat-sharing Social Network Helping ‘Generation Rent’ Find Compatible Housemates Raises £1m From Investors – Ideal Flatmate

The UK’s first algorithm based flatmate matching site aimed at helping ‘generation rent’ find compatible house companions raises £1m within 4 weeks, just as house prices across the UK hit a record high in May.

Ideal Flatmate was founded by young tech entrepreneurs Tom Gatzen and Rob Imonikhe after becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of options for finding flatmates while living together as friends at university.

The platform is based on an algorithm similar to that of dating websites.

flatmateIt pairs up the most compatible flatmates using a simple 20-question survey based on their personalities, instead of just location and budget.

The co-founders secured most of the investment from lead investor David Pollock, founder of the estate agency Greene & Co, and also attracted the founder of healthy snack business Graze, Edd Read, to help grow the company.

Ideal Flatmate is now valued at £4m and has seen a huge jump in the number of users registering monthly from 15,000 to 150,000.

The number of properties added to the ‘flat-sharing social network‘ has also grown from 300 per month to 2,000 a month, partly thanks to the changing nature of the property market and growing demand for renting.

Gatzen said: “People are having to rent longer and it’s becoming less of an option for young people to buy a home with house prices rising. We set Ideal Flatmate up to try and ensure people live together with people that they get along with.

“This funding is a huge vote of confidence in the business and we are excited to continue building a credible alternative to help Generation Rent find their perfect flatmates.”

“The next stage of progression is an exciting one for the business as we deploy our growth strategies over the coming months, ” said Imonikhe.


Tom Gatzen, co-founder of Ideal Flatmate, shares the highs and lows of running a business with a friend.

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