Co-founders of a St Albans moving company are "incredibly proud" as they celebrate 25 successful years of business helping millions across the UK.
Reallymoving, the Herts-based comparison site for home-buyers, celebrates its 25th birthday this month after starting life as a ‘kitchen table start-up’ in 1999.
Still majority-owned and run by co-founders, husband and wife team Rob Houghton and Rosie Rogers, reallymoving is now used by approximately one in ten homebuyers in the UK to find conveyancing, surveying and removals services, comparing prices and reviews.
CEO Rob said: “When we launched reallymoving twenty-five years ago, nobody knew what a comparison site was and some people still believed the internet might not catch on.
"Rosie and I are incredibly proud to have steered the company to where we are today – a major player in the residential property market and the go-to comparison site for anyone moving home – whilst staying true to our St Albans roots.”
Over the last 25 years they have assisted over 3.6 million customers, generating quotes worth £2.5 billion from their offices just off Chequer Street, where they employ 36 people.
Read More:
In 1999 Rob and Rosie were living in St Albans and with their second baby on the way, they needed to move urgently. Yet when they found a property they wanted to buy, they discovered how difficult it was to find reliable firms.
Their experience planted the seed for a business idea and a few weeks after their son was born, Rob resigned from his job. Alongside Rosie and a third co-founder James Barford, with £10,000 of savings he began developing an online directory for home movers.
With the internet still a relatively new concept, they commissioned a friend to build a prototype website, originally called ‘Good Move’.
Over two decades on, the business has survived the dot com crash and later the global financial crisis, and the concept took off once home broadband and smartphones became widespread.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here