How Anna Page of SlothMove is making life easier for house movers

But the real grind may be about to begin. You could spend weeks, perhaps months, telling people you’ve moved. The sheer volume of administrative work involved in relaying news of your move to the banks, utilities and authorities can be exhausting, at a time when your energies would be better engaged elsewhere.

Many people must have had a similar thought; in the digital age, shouldn’t we be capable of spreading the word at the click of a mouse? Surely there is no reason this aspect of the house moving process should be stuck in the 1970s?

Anna Page, the co-founder of the property tech disrupter SlothMove, was sick and tired of the relentless phone calls and form filling. So she decided to do something about it.

She recalled: "In early 2019, I moved house three times in as many months. I seemed to be having the same conversations on the phone time after time. My background is in engineering so I am used to problem solving and finding the best way of doing something with the minimum amount of waste and as cheaply as possible.”

Founded around four years ago in Sheffield, SlothMove has grown to provide services to thousands of active monthly users, who have flocked to the platform because it allows them to change their address across hundreds of businesses and utility providers in one process.

The average home move involves around 21 points of contact to update your addresses. SlothMove reduces this to just one single point of contact, saving each user an average of 12 hours, according to the company’s research. It has helped more than 50,000 home movers to date.

Ms Page was tired of the long and bureaucratic process of individually updating local authorities, central government departments and service providers about her new address.

She added: “Slothmove, which originally started out as a side hustle, is really easy to use. You fill in a form and we do the rest. The customer has always been at the heart of everything we have done.”

Last year, Taylor Rose MW, the UK law firm, acquired a stake in SlothMove, to accelerate its change of address and home-setup service across the UK.

The move marked Taylor Rose’s first non-legal acquisition.

The SlothMove team is using the seven-figure investment from Taylor Rose MW to upgrade its technology as well as developing further commercial partnerships. The business was recognised for its innovation in 2020 by the British Business Bank.

The company also uses a sophisticated encryption system which aims to help set a new standard for security protection to stop identity fraud, which has become synonymous with moving home.

In 2021, homeowners collectively lost an estimated £3.5m from fraudulent transactions, affecting thousands of households.

People who forget to update their details may see vital personal information fall into the wrong hands when letters are delivered to an old address.

SlothMove is set for rapid growth as a tech disruptor, but Ms Page’s early career dreams revolved around flying.

"My early goal was to become an RAF pilot,’’ she said. “ I remember loving being on a plane when we went on holiday as a child and wanted to become a pilot. I became an RAF air cadet at the age of 13.

"I spent time with a gliding squadron before I could drive a car. I still love gliding, it's peaceful and beautiful. I also love the adrenaline rush and having to make very precise plans.

"We are such a good fit with Taylor Rose,’’ she said. “We have almost exactly the same client base and it's proving to be a really good partnership.

“One of our ambitions is to grow internationally; a lot of people are moving in and out of the UK. Our long-term aim is to become a household brand as we move into general life automation and create a safe space to hold really important information.

"We have 10 people working for SlothMove at the moment and have established a hub at Wellington Place in Leeds. We liked Wellington Place because of its proximity to the station. It's in a lovely environment and we are surrounded by great people.

She added: “Every time you pop out to grab a coffee, you meet some like-minded people.

"We would love to double in size and get to 20 people. The most important point is that new staff must fit in with our culture. It's a customer first culture and we're such a flexible company. You can work anywhere you want.”

"Work has in many ways become integrated with people's home life and this is so refreshing and so positive. If anything, it has made people more productive.

"My advice to anyone who wants to set up their own business is simple; just do it. Just get it started. Don't be scared to fail or of what other people think.

"Within five years we would like to be supporting movement in and out of around five countries, perhaps in Australia or Europe."

‘Dragons’ Den’ star and founder of small business service provider, Moblox, Piers Linney led a mastermind session with SlothMove in 2020 as part of British Business Bank's small business of the year competition.

Ms Page recalled said: “It was awesome - we were such a young company at the time - just over a year into it, so SlothMove was a diamond in the rough.

"Piers was lovely and full of insight and was able to instill some classic ‘Dragons’ Den’ wisdom. It was also surreal to meet someone who has been so successful.”

It seems only a matter of time before Ms Page provides advice and inspiration to fledgling entrepreneurs who want to see their dreams take flight.