The AllotMe project, dubbed the ‘AirBnB of gardens’, has secured investment to expand fledgling business.
Date: 16 June 2022
AllotMe, founded by London Met graduate Conor Gallagher, lets households rent their garden space as an allotment. The innovative business has received £250,000 investment to help launch a summer campaign to recruit hosts and increase the number of allotments advertised.
Conor, a trained architect, presented the first AllotMe concept at London Met’s Big Ideas Challenge in 2018, and won the ‘Social Impact’ award. He went on to fully launch the project in May 2021, and the site has attracted hundreds of hosts in the UK, and across the world. The AllotMe team aims to use the investment to increase the number of plots by 2000% and introduce improvements to the platform.
“The first year of AllotMe has shown the massive potential of the platform, from both hosts and greenfingers, and the time is right to invest in scaling up the technology and reach of the business to meet the demand” Conor told the Belfast Telegraph.
Born in Belfast, Conor took inspiration for the project during his time in London, when he found it difficult to find and cultivate green spaces in the city. Allotments and gardens are in high demand, some allotments have waiting lists of over 40 years.
AllotMe has been for investment Covid 19 saw further rise in demand for green spaces, with ‘grow-your-own’ projects sprouting up all over the UK. Additionally, the rise in food prices during the cost of living crisis has motivated home gardeners to grow their own produce.
In an interview with the Belfast Newsletter, Conor explained: "With inflation at 30-year highs, people are seeing the price of food soar and that’s why more are turning to growing their own. The lack of available space continues to be an issue however, and that’s why this investment is so important. The cost-of-living crisis affects everybody, and if we want to provide a solution for more people that offers access to a healthy and sustainable source of food.”
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