Materials Market first took shape after founders Samuel and Andrew grew frustrated with the daily struggle of contacting supplier after supplier looking for the best price and delivery time for construction materials. Knowing there had to be a better way, Samuel had a eureka moment and proposed an online marketplace platform where customers and suppliers could trade directly with each other.
Now the marketplace with the vision of a transparent buyer’s network and marketplace is live and servicing tradespeople and consumers alike across the UK. It has sparked the interest of seed venture capitalist fund, Fuel Ventures, who invested £1.5m in the new tech start-up in September 2021. Investing in the most ambitious technology companies, Fuel Ventures is a leading early/growth stage seed EIS Fund based in London, UK. This followa a pre-seed funding round of £130k from angel investors.
“We were really impressed with the team’s knowledge of the industry and their impressive solution to the challenges faced by that particular market. They have created a platform which gives buyers the best prices, due to its large network of suppliers, and fast deliveries – which is exactly what the market needs.
We feel it’s our responsibility to invest in the future of UK tech and by supporting forward-thinking entrepreneurs like Samuel and Andrew, we can help them to change the way building materials are bought and sold in the UK – and pass on the benefits to the end users.”
– Shiv Patel, Investment Manager, Fuel Ventures
“The sector has been slower than others to move to a digital-first approach and so when we mapped out what Materials Market should represent to both suppliers and customers, it was clear we needed to deliver value for both parties. We knew that if we could create a true free market environment, where everyone got a fair chance of winning an order, it would allocate resources much more efficiently than any of the existing models operating in this space.”
From personal experience as buyers in the construction sector, we know all too well the daily struggle of contacting supplier after supplier, looking for the best price and delivery time for materials, and we wanted to break that chain with a transparent online platform. The investment from Fuel Ventures is vindication of our solution and its future potential to deliver huge value for both sides of the marketplace.”
The last 18 months hasn’t been without its challenges, particularly in the building materials market with product supply presenting obstacles for both suppliers’ stock and consumers’ deliveries.
The investment in our vision has allowed us to support more of the UK’s building materials supply chain to refine and evolve their offering post pandemic, creating a win-win situation for both buyers and sellers. Collectively we are changing the way the market works, and we’re looking forward to continuing to scale our digital solution and transform how products are traded with new initiatives over the next 12 months and beyond.”
– Samuel Hunt, Co-Founder & CEO, Materials Market
If you are interested in finding out more about Materials Market, you can contact the team on 020 7459 4574.
