When entrepreneur Kevin Byrne first formed Checkatrade in 1998, little did he know the impact the company would have on the UK trading industry. In the wake of a Tornado, which devastated his hometown of Selsey in Sussex, he noticed that there had been an increase in the amount of rogue traders in the area so created Checkatrade as a place where people could source reliable and trusted tradespeople.

Since then the business has grown at a phenomenal pace. They provide an online resource where tradespeople including builders, plumbers and electricians are vetted with 18 consideration of which 13 are actual checks before they become a Checkatrade member to ensure they are to the highest possible quality.

Next year marks the company’s 20^th anniversary and they can celebrate knowing that in just 20 years they have achieved great things.

Top EIGHT Checkatrade successes

• Now feature over 26,000 members.
• Gain 1.5m visits per month to the website.
• 3.2m customer reviews published –  All tradespeople on the website are independently reviewed by customers so only the most reputable tradespeople are featured.
• A total of 288 jobs have been generated to date – they also continue to keep their growth strong due to heavy media presence and sponsorship of national TV programmes.
• A total of £3.6billion contributed to trades and services.
• 9,500 new employment positions for companies across the UK in the past 12 months

Football sponsorship highlights

• Crawley Town – Since 2013 Checkatrade have been the stadium sponsor for Football league club Crawley Town. This involves the team’s stadium now being known as ‘The Checkatrade Stadium.’
• The Checkatrade Trophy – In 2016 the company acquired the sponsorship of the EFL Trophy, which is now known as the Checkatrade Trophy. This has been a huge success and last season culminated in Coventry City winning the trophy, defeating Oxford United in front of a record breaking crowd of 74,434 fans at Wembley Stadium.

As they approach another milestone with their 20^th anniversary next year, Checkatrade’s profile continues to grow and they remain as dedicated as ever to provide the UK with the most trusted tradespeople in the country.