London start-up which helps people save on household bills will use investment to expand into new markets such as insurance and energy

Ctrlio, a London-based start-up that helps people save on their household bills, has received $1.3m investment in a deal led by former Genesis singer Peter Gabriel, and ex Virgin Media CFO; Robert Gale.

Founded in 2013 by Laurence John and Dominic Strowbridge, Ctrlio helps consumers match tailored deals from mobile providers to their actual usage. The free tool also claims to help comapnies increase brand acquisition and lower advertising costs.

Alongside an earlier Seedcamp funding round, the latest finance will allow the company to expand into new markets and verticals to serve a wider range of customers.

John commented: “Following our success in the mobile market, we are ready to move into new channels, such as insurance and energy. This round of investment will help us continue to build momentum and make the crucial steps to take intention marketing to the masses.”

Gabriel added:

“I got involved in Ctrlio because it’s one of the first businesses to allow people to harvest their own personal data.

“From the perspective of businesses and brands the new fault line appearing is between the ‘push' – the old advertising model of throwing a ton of stuff in front of everyone and the new ‘pull' model based around your intentions, that can both be made transparent and understandable.”