Patch App launches to 25,000 homes

A Colne-based tech company which secured six-figure funding last year has now launched an app designed to connect consumers with window cleaners.

The Patch App, now available across East Lancashire and West Yorkshire, was co-founded by Paul White, who helped create the Modern Milkman, and Conor Walsh, a Lancashire Innovation Challenge winner.

It is now available on Andrioid and iOS and helps consumers find, schedule and pay for nearby window cleaners and other home maintenance professionals. It will soon include a subscription model, where customers can add additional, one-off services to their orders.

The company secured more than £200,000 of investment last year, largely from Lancashire-based backers, valuing the company at £1m. 

The current aim is to serve 100,000 households across Yorkshire and the North West by March, before heading for a national rollout using a data-led approach.

The team is already exploring options for overseas expansion.

Paul White said: "We’ve worked really hard, with a relatively small but very talented team to get to market, in a short space of time.

“We knew what we wanted to achieve. Convenience is king, and it’s time to revolutionise another industry that hasn’t caught up with the modern day yet. This idea has been in my head for quite a while and when we did our market research, we just knew it was a runner. Our early stage, on-the-ground tests have backed that up."

“We’re building a subscription model, where customers can then add any number of additional, one-off services to their order too."

Conor Walsh added: "Our research shows that two-fifths of the UK don’t have a window cleaner, but would if they could book, pay and manage that process using tech. People don’t want to be scratching around for cash when there’s a knock at the door, or having to bank transfer money."