For a family facing the need to find care for an aging parent, the process is often defined by crisis, confusion, and a lack of clear information. The standard search involves frantic phone calls to individual homes, opaque pricing, and the daunting task of interpreting regulatory quality ratings. Lottie, a London-based startup founded in 2021, is betting that a free, centralized digital marketplace can bring order to this fragmented and emotionally fraught landscape. The company now connects over a million monthly users with more than 4,000 vetted care providers across the UK, a scale that recently convinced Accel to lead a $21 million Series A round [UKTech News, October 2023].
A marketplace built on real-time availability
Lottie’s core proposition is straightforward: a free online platform where families can search, compare, and contact care homes and home care services. The differentiation lies in its commitment to real-time, actionable data. Unlike static directories, Lottie claims to only display listings that have verified, current capacity, pulling a critical variable out of the frustrating game of telephone that often defines the search [LinkedIn, 2026]. Users can filter by type of care, weekly cost, facilities, and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) rating, the UK’s independent regulator of health and social care.
Perhaps its most humane feature is the ‘Care Experts’ team, a free concierge service that helps families navigate the entire process, from understanding funding options to arranging visits [lottie.org/, 2026]. For providers, the platform functions as a lead generation and marketing tool, promising increased online visibility and a streamlined way to fill vacancies [lottie.org/services-for-care-providers/, 2026]. This two-sided model positions Lottie not just as a listing service, but as an intermediary aiming to reduce friction on both ends of a high-stakes transaction.
The funding and the founders behind the bet
The company’s rapid traction is reflected in its funding history and investor confidence. Founded by brothers Will and Chris Donnelly, Lottie has raised approximately $23.5 million in disclosed funding to date.
| Round | Date | Amount | Lead Investor | Notable Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | 2022 | $2.5M | Kindred | Valued at £27.5 million (estimated) [Startupmag, February 2022]. |
| Series A | Oct 2023 | $21M | Accel | Funding intended for team growth and software expansion [UKTech News, October 2023]. |
Accel’s involvement, alongside seed backers like Kindred and angels including former Monzo CEO Tom Blomfield, signals a belief that the UK’s elderly care sector is ripe for digital intermediation [TechCrunch, October 2023]. The Series A capital is earmarked for growing the team from 50 to 100 employees and, critically, expanding its software for care home discovery [UKTech News, October 2023]. This suggests a move beyond a pure lead-gen marketplace toward deeper, potentially SaaS-enabled, tools for the sector.
Navigating a crowded and complex landscape
Lottie does not operate in a vacuum. The digital care marketplace space in the UK includes several other players, each with slightly different approaches. The competitive pressure is a function of both vying for the same families and proving superior utility to care providers.
- Care Marketplace and Curam. These UK-focused platforms also connect care seekers with vetted providers, with Curam emphasizing its training and quality standards for carers [Maddyness, March 2024].
- Care.com and HomeTouch. These represent a broader model, often focusing more on in-home care and nanny services, competing for a segment of Lottie’s home care audience.
- The incumbent process. The most significant competitor remains the status quo: word-of-mouth referrals, local authority lists, and direct provider searches. Displacing these ingrained habits requires demonstrably better outcomes, not just a digital interface.
Lottie’s most credible answer to this competition is its specific focus on the later-life care home sector, its scale of provider partnerships, and its investment in human-supported concierge services. The planned software expansion could further embed its utility within care providers’ own operations.
The path ahead and the stakes for families
The company has publicly stated a goal of international expansion, with the US market a target for 2025. This ambition underscores the universal nature of the problem it is solving. The next twelve months will be crucial for proving that its marketplace model can achieve sustainable unit economics at scale and that its software tools gain adoption with providers.
For the patient population,older adults and their families,the standard of care today is a patchwork. The search is typically reactive, driven by a health event or crisis, and conducted with incomplete information on availability, quality, and cost. It is a process layered with emotional stress and logistical complexity. Lottie’s bet is that by aggregating supply, verifying capacity, and providing expert guidance, it can transform a moment of vulnerability into one of informed choice. The company’s growth to over a million monthly seekers suggests the need is acute. The true test will be whether its model can consistently deliver better matches and easier transitions, improving outcomes for the individuals at the heart of every search.
Sources
- [UKTech News, October 2023] Elderly care marketplace Lottie raises £17m Series A | https://uktechnews.co.uk/2023/10/18/elderly-care-marketplace-lottie-raises-17m-series-a/
- [Startupmag, February 2022] Lottie Secures $2.5M to Expand Care Marketplace | https://startupmag.co.uk/2022/02/lottie-secures-2-5m-to-expand-care-marketplace/
- [Maddyness, March 2024] Curam, the startup ensuring that no one goes without care | https://www.maddyness.com/2024/03/12/curam-the-startup-ensuring-that-no-one-goes-without-care/
- [TechCrunch, October 2023] Accel leads $21M investment in UK care home marketplace Lottie | https://techcrunch.com/2023/10/09/care-home-marketplace-lottie-raises-21m/
- [LinkedIn, 2026] Will Donnelly - Lottie | https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-donnelly-b1ba1160/
- [lottie.org/, 2026] Lottie homepage | https://lottie.org/
- [lottie.org/services-for-care-providers/, 2026] Services for care providers | https://lottie.org/services-for-care-providers/