As the UK’s economy moves ever closer towards recovery and growth, there is still great debate on the controversial austerity measures introduced by the government over the past couple of years. Labour’s new leader Jeremy Corbyn has recently set out plans to increase the country’s finances without introducing further cuts, and alarming figures are often used to carefully illustrate why further austerity measures, heralded by chancellor George Osborne as the UKs saving grace, are not the answer.
According to start-up company Cocontrol, 4.1 million householders live in social housing as a result of benefit cuts and reduced rent protection schemes. Of these householders, 43 percent live in poverty and struggle to balance food expenses and rent with the increasing cost of gas and electricity bills. To counter this problem, Cocontrol have designed new technology in the hope of helping tenants, easing the burden on social landlords and saving money and energy in the process.
Social landlords are now required to comply with ‘duty of care’ legislation which requires them to continuously improve the well-being of their tenants, although overall funding has been cut. Cocontrol’s system helps manage heating requirements within a budget through cloud-based intelligence, enabling heating systems to work more efficiently and economically; making both tenants’ and landlords’ lives easier.
The team behind the company have great potential: Cocontrol’s Chairman is Andrew Wordsworth, something of a celebrity in the crowdfunding sector after his company E-car Club became the first UK equity-crowdfunded startup to successfully exit and pay back their investors. He works alongside the company’s founder, James Byrne, who has a built up a wealth of experience in the energy efficiency and social housing over the past five years, founding several different companies who operate in the sector. He also advises The Mayor of London as a Commissioner on the LSDC.
The business has raised over £300,000 in grant funding to date, securing £225,084 of non-dilutive grant funding from InnovateUK’s Future Energy Management For Buildings Collaborative R&D competition, establishing strong sales partners and achieving early sales with a London Council. Cocontrol are aiming to use the money raised through crowdfunding to strengthen their marketing, recruit additional management staff and enhance user experience.
Cocontrol are offering 100,000 for 14.29 percent equity on Crowdcube.com. For further information on how to invest, visit their campaign page here.
Miranda Wadham on 30/09/2015