"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"
Over the next 12 months, Habito aims to develop 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.
Since its launch in April 2016, Habito has helped more than 20,000 customers and has completed £50 million in mortgage applications.
In September, the firm launched an artificially intelligent Digital Mortgage Adviser, which aims to estimate monthly mortgage costs across hundreds of products in 10 minutes.
The extra £5.5m has been raised in Series A funding led by Silicon Valley-based Ribbit Capital, with participation from existing investor Mosaic Ventures.
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 The industry has suffered from a lack of innovation for decades and the outdated, paper-based manual processes aren’t fit for 21st century homeowners.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. We’re excited to continue to build our business and deliver new services that provide Britons with 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.”
