Builderscrack attracts Aussie tradies site

Australian online marketplace for tradespeople hipages Group (ASX:HPG) has acquired New Zealand’s leading online tradie marketplace Builderscrack for $11.8 million.

With the acquisition, hipages surges to market leader in the trans-Tasman for trade services, opening the aussie brand up to a total addressable market (TAM) of NZ$26 billion.

Builderscrack is working capital positive and operating cashflow, making the transaction value accretive to hipages Group.

The transaction was funded using 80 per cent existing cash reserves and 20 per cent equity.

According to Roby Sharon-Zipser, hipages Group CEO and co-founder, “Jeremy and the Builderscrack team have built a great business around a strong technology platform and an incredibly loyal tradie base. We will supercharge their growth by leveraging the strategic and operational experience we gained from scaling our business in Australia, as well as helping them to grow their brand to capture the huge market opportunity in New Zealand.”

hipages has been on a tear of late, with the Builderscrack acquisition following a strategic investment in property management technology platform Bricks + Agent, and the deployment of its filed service software solution Tradiecore.

According to Jeremy Wyn-Harris, general manager and co-founder of Builderscrack, “We have built our business and technology from the ground up and created a brand that resonates strongly with New Zealanders.”

“As Australia’s leading online tradie marketplace, hipages Group is a natural partner for us, and joining forces with Roby and his team will enable us to take our business to the next level. We look forward to learning from them and sharing ideas, as well as rolling out new products and services to add value for our tradie customers.”

On completion of the deal, Builderscrack will retain its brand and leadership team. From over 95,000 jobs posted annually, the company facilitated approximately NZ$67 million of job value, the company says.

While it is New Zealand’s market leader, Builderscrack only covers less than 1 per cent of the TAM. In its first seven months post completion the acquisition is set to contribute $2.3 million to higpages Group revenue.