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British subscription-based pet wellbeing firm ITCH聽has secured 拢7.25m in early stage investment, paving the way for it to expand into the 拢4.5bn聽global pet insurance market.

In a round led by YYX Capital, the direct-to-consumer pet care service raised the cash injection from Accel Partners and Seedcamp, taking the total investment to 拢12.25m.

ITCH launched in July 2019 with a monthly flea and worming home delivery service. Via the ITCH app, pet owners are sent a reminder when it鈥檚 time to administer treatment, delivered directly to their door every month.

Headquartered in Leeds, the direct to consumer business will use the funding to launch in the US, expand into the pet insurance sector and fuel further development of its data platform so it is best placed to serve pets and their owners.

Its co-founders are James Cox, founder of ‘sleep tech’ firm Simba; Jonny Gould founder of Monster Pet Supplies; and Adam Gould, an ex-lawyer with pet care market experience.

New to the team is former mytaxi boss Andrew Pinnington, who takes on the role of Chief Executive Officer and will lead a US expansion next year.

Pinnington headed up mytaxi and Hailo for 3.5 years from 2014, during which time he turned the business around from a low base, and subsequently exited a majority interest to BMW (& Daimler) in 2018.

Prior to this, he spent 12 years at Carphone Warehouse, transitioning through a variety of roles, ultimately culminating in the position of Chief Operating Officer.

Cox, who also serves as chairman said: 鈥淥ffering pet owners direct access to the best personalised treatment products for their pets is proving a winning formula.

鈥淥ur latest investment combined with the current rate of growth and onboarding of a new management team will accelerate our position on home soil; and a expected funding round later this year or early next will enable us to expand into the US and beyond鈥�.

With a monthly customer growth rate of 10-20%, the pet wellbeing firm reports it is on track to reach around 拢10m in annual recurring by year end.