User:Lancshero/sandbox
Checkatrade.com
Checkatrade Ltd is a vetted platform of tradespeople founded by Kevin Byrne with headquarters in Selsey, West Sussex. The website features over 30,000 UK tradespeople and has collected over 4.4 million reviews. According to tech publication Engadget, the service is partly responsible for the downfall of the printed Yellow Pages in the UK and is now ubiquitous with finding a tradesperson, "If you're after a plumber you look on Checkatrade, if you need a cab you fire up the Uber app, and if you're craving pizza you simply ask Alexa to order one".[1]
History
Checkatrade started life as "Scout" and was founded in September 1998 by Kevin Byrne after a deluge of "rogue traders" or "cowboy builders" descended on Selsey following a localised tornado.[2] When it was revealed in extensive news coverage that over £10m of damage had been caused, tradespeople were attracted to the area due to the sheer volume of jobs available. As a tradesman himself, Byrne setup Scout as a directory of tradespeople he had personally vetted to complete jobs in the Selsey area.[3]
Byrne soon changed the company name to "The Trade Register", but a government rule later forbidding the use of the word ‘register’ in a company name saw the change to "Checkatrade" in 2005.[4]
In February 2017, Homeserve acquired a 40% stake in Checkatrade, holding an option to extend that to 75% within the following 2 years.[5][6] By November 2017 Homeserve had acquired the remaining 60% for a further £54m.[7]
By 2018 Checkatrade employed over 270 people, and the platform had resulted in over £2.7bn worth of work for tradespeople.[8]
Checkatrade have announced they plan to relocate the company headquarters to Portsmouth in the Lakeside North Harbour complex during 2019.[9]
Awards & Partnerships
In 2014 the Checkatrade website won a Queen's Award for Enterprise, being commended in the Innovation category.[10] Later in 2014 Checkatrade was recognised by The Times in their "Britain’s Best Small Companies to Work For" awards.[11]
A number of UK councils' trading standards departments have partnered with Checkatrade including Nottinghamshire, East Sussex, Suffolk, Kent, Surrey and Buckinghamshire.[12][13][14][15][16][17]. After an elderly woman was targeted by con men in Kent, resulting in her losing over £1,000, the Police issued a recommendation that residents use tradespeople in the Kent Count Council trading standards approved trader scheme, created in conjunction with Checkatrade.[18]
Sponsorships
Checkatrade are currently the sponsor of the English Football League Trophy, a position they've held since the 2016/17 season. The Checkatrade Trophy involves clubs from League One and League Two, plus 16 under-21 teams from the Premier League and EFL Championship clubs.
In 2014 Craig Philips, the builder who found fame as the first ever winner of Big Brother in the UK, became Checkatrade's Brand Ambassador.[19][20]
Between 2013 and 2018 the Broadfield Stadium, home of Crawly Town FC, was renamed "The Checkatrade.com Stadium" as part of a sponsorship deal.[21]
In early 2018 Checkatrade became sponsor of the PDC darts tournaments.[22]
References
- ^ "The internet has finally killed off the Yellow Pages". Engadget. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ "The night the Selsey twister wrecked a town". The Independent. 1998-01-09. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ "Interview: Kevin Byrne, Checkatrade - Meet the entrepreneur taking on cowboy builders". www.managementtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ "Set up a private limited company". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ Williams, Christopher (2017-02-02). "HomeServe seeks digital future with Checkatrade investment". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ "Subscribe to read". Financial Times. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
{{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help) - ^ Ltd, Insider Media. "HomeServe takes complete ownership of Checkatrade". Insider Media Ltd. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ "EFL Official Website - About Checkatrade". www.efl.com. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ "Popular trade website Checkatrade to leave Selsey HQ". Spirit FM. 2018-10-10. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
- ^ "Subscribe to read". Financial Times. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
{{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help) - ^ Boztas, Senay (2014-03-08). "United teams thrive on the extra pressure". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0956-1382. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ Surrey County Council, County Hall. "Approved traders". www.surreycc.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
- ^ Web Team, East Sussex County Council. "Businesses approved by Checkatrade – Approved traders". East Sussex County Council. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
- ^ Council, Nottinghamshire County. "Approved Trader Scheme". Nottinghamshire County Council. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
- ^ "Trading Standards scheme operators". www.kent.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
- ^ "Checkatrade | Community Directory". infolink.suffolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
{{cite web}}: no-break space character in|title=at position 12 (help) - ^ "Checkatrade: In partnership with Buckinghamshire and Surrey Trading Standards". www.checkatrade.com. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
- ^ "Elderly woman targeted by rogue traders". Kent Online. 2019-01-14Z14:49:00.0000000+00:00. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Checkatrade | Craig Phillips". craigphillips.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
- ^ "Craig Phillips becomes a Brand Ambassador for Checkatrade.com | Champions Celebrity". championscelebrity.com. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
- ^ "Crawley Town in Checkatrade.com naming rights deal - SportsPro Media". www.sportspromedia.com. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ "Checkatrade Extend PDC Partnership". PDC. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
External Links
Official Website https://www.checkatrade.com