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hipages growth booming as Aussies seek out trusted tradies

Announcement posted by hipages 12 Dec 2017

  • 37% YoY revenue growth
  • FY17 revenue of $37 million achieved
  •  Generated more than $2 billion worth of jobs for Aussie tradespeople in past year
  • News Corp increases investment
12 December 2017, Sydney, Australia – hipages, Australia’s number one place to hire a trusted tradesperson, today announced 37 per cent year-on-year growth based on FY17 results, totaling $37 million in annual revenue. Two million Australians have used hipages to date, with over 110,000 jobs posted by customers per month, generating $2.4 billion worth of work among Australia’s qualified trades community in the past 12 months. The business also reports a 5 per cent increase in investment from News Corp, taking News Corp’s stake in hipages to 30 per cent.
 
As at the end of November 2017, hipages experienced notable annual growth across the business, cementing a continued demand for trustworthy tradespeople in Australia. Growth statistics for the past 12 months include:
  • 38 per cent increase in tradespeople connected to the platform, totaling over 110,000  registered tradespeople across all trade categories such as plumbing, building, painting, tiling, electrical work, handyman work, garden maintenance, air conditioning, concreting and other home repair jobs;
  • Two million Australian consumers have used hipages to date, with 700,000 jobs posted through the app;
  • 126 per cent year-on-year increase in app downloads, with over 540,000 downloads to date;
  • 19 per cent increase in trade job requests via the platform with almost 1.2 million jobs logged, resulting in $2.4 billion worth of job value in the past 12 months.
To support the continued growth of hipages, staff headcount has increased by 36 per cent in the past year, today totalling 160 employees in Sydney. This investment in talent includes the recent appointment of Stuart Tucker to the role of Chief Customer Officer, who joined hipages from CBA where he held a senior brand, sponsorships and marketing role. The business has also appointed Jonathan Harrison to the role of VP, Product, and Jim Matheson to the role of VP, Growth & Marketing. This newly diversified work stream allows the business to focus heavily on both future product development and growth.
 
hipages CEO & co-founder David Vitek said: “Over 70 million jobs are completed each year in the home improvement industry.[1]
 
“Home improvement is a booming nationwide sector and Australians need peace of mind when hiring a tradesperson via a digital platform – they need to feel confident and comfortable that they’ve booked a tradesperson who is highly qualified and professional. And that’s where our service differentiates from the rest. We’re dedicated to helping registered tradespeople build their businesses, as well as committed to connecting more Aussie homeowners with trustworthy, qualified tradespeople,” said Vitek.
 
The business attributes part of its continued success to the growing home improvement market in Australia. Renovating is the highest housing-related priority for nearly one third (32 per cent) of Australian homeowners considering a house-related activity in the next five years[2]. In addition, three quarters (76 per cent) of Australian homeowners are currently on their home renovating journey, up 12 per cent since 2015.
 
In the past year, Australians spent $140 billion on service providers in the home improvement market[3]. Recent CoreLogic figures suggest that spending on home renovations is particularly strong in the cities of Sydney and Melbourne[4], which is also reflected in hipages data, with both cities achieving the highest number of jobs posted per month. The top five types of job requests posted to hipages in the past year included Handyman, Fencing Expert, Electrician, Plumber and Painter.
 
“We’re extremely happy with our solid growth results year-on-year, and have significantly added staff headcount in tandem to maintain our premium level of service. Coupled with continued product and service innovations, it’s all combining to set us up for further growth and expansion,” continued Vitek.
 
The multi-faceted growth experienced by hipages follows NewsCorp Australia’s initial 25 per cent acquisition of the business in late 2015. In this time, the business has invested heavily in product development, including significant innovations in the platform for consumers and tradespeople, talent and marketing.
 
The business has also been recognised by some of the country’s most prestigious innovation and technology awards, including SmartCompany’s 2017 Smart50 Awards, as well as The Australian Financial Review’s 2016 Fast 100 Awards and 2016 Most Innovative Companies Awards.
 
#ENDS#
 
For more information and interview requests, please contact:
 
DEC PR
Luisa, Jennifer, Summer or Duyen at hipages@decpr.com.au, (02) 8014 5033
 
hipages
Guillaume Papillon, PR & Communications manager at guillaumepapillon@hipagesgroup.com.au, 0405 074 109.
 
[1] Australian market only, marketing spend and jobs/year are management estimates from collated sources. Sources: ABS, PWC, IBIS. Service providers: building and home improvement industries
[2] 2017 Westpac Group Head of Home Ownership Report: https://www.westpac.com.au/about-westpac/media/media-releases/2017/18-april-1/
[3]Australian market only, marketing spend and jobs/year are management estimates from collated sources. Sources: ABS, PWC, IBIS. Service providers: building and home improvement industries
[4] https://www.smartpropertyinvestment.com.au/opinion/15901-housing-famine-resulting-in-home-renovation-boom