A new ‘Airbnb for gardeners’ that lets households rent their garden space as an allotment, has been set up by Belfast architect Connor Gallagher.
A year into starting the business, Connor is already expanding having secured a £250,000 investment including more than £50,000 from the HBAN Angel Network in Northern Ireland.
His online marketplace for allotments, AllotMe, pairs anybody with available outdoor space with people seeking somewhere to grow their own – known on the platform as ‘greenfingers’.
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AllotMe enables hosts to list their land on the platform, setting pricing and outlining the specifics of the available plot.
And just as holiday makers seek out holiday homes to suit their needs, greenfingers can seek out local plots to suit their growing needs.
Messages are exchanged with potential plot hosts to request to rent the plot on a monthly basis, and once an agreement has been made, greenfingers can start growing their own fruit, vegetables and flowers.
Connor says hosts enjoy the benefit of watching their garden becoming productive and cared for while their plants work to absorb around 25% of the local community’s climate emissions.
The former St Malachy’s College pupil who grew up in North Belfast, said: “I had planned to launch AllotMe in spring of 2020 but when Covid-19 hit, that plan was waylaid like so many others. During the first lockdown however, I noticed a significant uptake on AllotMe’s website and our own Greenfinger Waiting List.
“At this point there were also multiple reports emerging of traditional allotment waiting lists increasing by figures of 300% in some cases.
“It became clear to me that lockdown proved our day-to-day habits could be changed for the better, and that people were now looking for practices that aligned more with their ideals for a more sustainable and wholesome lifestyle.
“In a time where it’s all too easy to take out your smartphone and get lost for an hour at a time without realising it, ‘growing your own’ gives me a real grounded sense of time and purpose.”
In the UK 80% of the population lives in cities, with one in eight homes without any garden space at all - and that figure rises to one in five in London.
And with allotment waiting lists hitting 40 years and the cost of living rising fast, Connor, 32, believes the ability to grow your own has never been more important to help people cope.
He said: "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.”
Connor, a graduate of Ulster University, has already enjoyed a successful career as an architect and urban designer. Always a high flier, his projects included work on £30 million plus construction projects in New York and London, as well as involvement at start-up Farmacy NYC.
But now he has stepped away from architecture to focus full time on AllotMe, fuelled by a passion for promoting sustainability and urban regeneration.
And with a quarter of a million pounds investment from backers across London and Belfast, he has set his garden matching digital platform a target of 2,000% growth in hosts over next 18 months, including a summer campaign to switch the nation on to growing their own.
He said: “Backing of £250,000 from QVentures, HBAN and other angel investors shows the faith people have in what we’re out to achieve at AllotMe, and the investment will play a massive part in driving the next chapter for 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.
“People across the UK are telling us this is a service they want, and I’m massively excited by this next stage for AllotMe as we continue on our mission to revitalise underutilised space in cities by providing a truly sustainable solution that encourages people to grow their own and eat more healthily too.
“AllotMents 2.0 will focus on encouraging hosts to think about how the platform can enable their space to work for them, whether that’s earning money to spend on other things; manage outdoor space they can’t; or help the environment through passive sustainability.”
To rent an allotment, would-be gardeners simply register their interest and wait to be paired with local residents who have available outdoor space.
Depending on size, the price to rent a plot is currently between £15 and £30 a month and all produce from the allotment belongs to the grower.
He explained: “AllotMe was founded as interest in allotment and garden space in cities surged during the Covid-19 pandemic, but with highly limited supply. That interest has risen even more steeply as the cost of living crisis escalates."
Robert Walsh is Managing Partner at QVentures, one of Connor’s major investors. He said: “We are proud to support AllotMe on its journey to creating the future of cities and a more sustainable future for the next generation. We’re also very happy to be working alongside Conor Gallagher, an innovative founder and architect disrupting this industry.”
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