Making overseas relocation less stressful, London-based startup perches on £8 million

As employers try to avoid the ‘great resignation’ by offering greater flexibility, choice and work-life balance to their employees while tapping into the global talent market to tackle the growing skills gap, the global employee relocation market is now worth $33.5 billion.

Tapping into the market is London-based relocation startup PerchPeek, which has now raised £8 million in funding.

The Series A round was co-led by Stage 2 Capital and AlbionVC. The funding will be used to grow an app development team to further improve the user experience and expansion.

The digital platform offers companies an end-to-end app that supports employees relocating to more than 25 countries around the world – including more remote locations and those with fewer rental options and tougher admin burdens. With its intuitive technology, it fully manages the relocation journey to save companies up to 70% in relocation costs.

Talking about taking on the rental woes, Paul Bennett, Dr. Ace Vinayak and Oliver Markham, co-founders of PerchPeek, said: “Relocating is a messy amalgamation of 20-30 different processes that create a super stressful process during what should be one of the most exciting moments in someone’s life. There are support packages but these are often inflexible and expensive, costing companies thousands of pounds, and usually only available for those at the top of the company. By bringing all the processes into one platform at accessible price points, we help both the relocating employee with their move but also their employer provide a high-value employee benefit.” 

Paul Bennett, CEO, PerchPeek added: “If 2021 was the year of the ‘great resignation’, 2022 will be the year of the ‘great relocation’. We are seeing an enormous appetite among employees to move around for work (in fact, 79% of employees would consider moving abroad according to a recent survey), and employers are matching this appetite by offering competitive relocation packages. It’s why some of the world’s largest technology, financial, and consulting firms are coming to us looking for a more cost-efficient and personal way to make relocation possible.”

Since January 2020, it has seen a 250% increase in the number of employees relocated via the app in the second half of 2021 compared to the first half, and the company expects growth to accelerate further into 2022. The platform works with tech and social media giants as well as corporates, including Thoughtworks, Liberty Global, Impala Travel and INEOS.