In its second round, Farewill attracts investments from unicorn founder Taavet Hinrikus of Transferwise, dmg ventures and listed fund Augmentum Fintech.
- “Dying is the largest financial event of your life – bigger than buying a home…The significant backing shows we’re here to put people back in control and give them peace of mind over what happens when they die” – Dan Garrett, CEO and founder, Farewill
London, Monday 21 January, 2019: Farewill, the UK’s fastest growing will writing service announces it has raised £7.5 million to disrupt the death industry.
The latest capital raise sees further investments from listed fund Augmentum Fintech, Taavet Hinrikus, Transferwise and Tracy Terrill ex CTO of LegalZoom. Other investors include founders of innocent smoothies JamJar,SAATCHiNVEST, dmg ventures, Kindred Capital, Tiny VC And Venture Founders. They join the likes of Alex Chesterman, founder of Zoopla who invested in Farewill’s seed-round.
Delivering simple, quick and easy-to-use tools for will writing online, Farewill is growing fast. In just under two years, it is already the largest will writer in the UK, writing 1 in 30 wills and by the end of 2019 is forecast to hit 10% of the market, writing 1 in 10.
There is a huge need for this service, with over 30 million people in the UK currently without a will and a death industry until now, untouched by technology. Farewill believes reaching people digitally and making the process as smooth as possible is key to fixing this huge problem.
This investment round will go towards doubling the workforce by the end of 2019 and allow the business to continue to deliver the highest level of customer support and satisfaction though its online service. Farewill customers benefit from having a specialist at the end of a phone or live chat, any time of day, 7 days a week, delivering trust and peace of mind.
Dan Garrett, Farewill co-founder and CEO commented “Dying is the largest financial event of your life, with £1 trillion expected to pass between generations over the next years. It’s a serious amount to protect and pass on correctly. And yet it is largely ignored.
“We have a unique and exciting opportunity to lead the way in building simple, easy-to-use tools for dealing with death, putting people back in control and giving everyone peace of mind over what happens when they die.It’s clear our investors are making a big bet on us doing something unprecedented, as we aim to build the first consumer brand in death.
“The mix of unicorn founders Alex Chesterman (Zoopla) and Taavet Hinrikus (Transferwise) and fintech specialists like Augmentum, is a testament to our team and approach to the market.”
Farewill’s growth is further supported by a number of insurance partnerships with providers such as Legal & General and Aviva. Farewill also has 50 charity partners including Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support for whom they’ve already raised £100 million in pledged income.
Alex Dunsdon, SAATCHiNVEST says: “There are few bigger markets than death. Everyone dies, and Farewill has already become the de facto consumer brand in the market. It’s been a privilege to watch Dan and the team grow so fast.”
Tim Levene, Augmentum concludes: “Securing pre and after-death services is an archaic and painful process. There is often little competition in a sector untouched by digital, with inefficiencies and pricing that reflect these market characteristics. There is a considerable opportunity in this space where Farewill are incredibly well positioned. Their phenomenal team led by Dan Garrett has already made great inroads achieving 3% market share, and we look forward to working with them to help the business fulfil its potential.”
