Richard Harpin: The Entrepreneur Behind HomeServe’s £4.1 Billion Success

Sir Richard Harpin is a British entrepreneur, investor and author best known for founding HomeServe, the home repairs and assistance company that grew into a multinational business valued at £4.1 billion when it was acquired by Brookfield. His career is notable not only for the size of that deal, but for the three decades of experimentation, international expansion and disciplined scaling behind it.Today, Richard Harpin focuses on helping other founders grow through Growth Partner, Business Leader, his writing and his book How to Make a Billion in Nine Steps. He was also awarded a knighthood in the 2026 New Year Honours.

Quick Bio

Field	Details
Full Name	Sir Richard David Harpin
Known As	Richard Harpin
Date of Birth	September 10, 1964
Birthplace	Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England
Nationality	British
Profession	Entrepreneur, Investor, Author
Education	University of York – Economics
Best Known For	Founder of HomeServe
Founded HomeServe	1993
Major Business Deal	HomeServe acquired in a deal valuing it at about £4.1 billion
Investment Firm	Growth Partner
Other Venture	Business Leader
Book	How to Make a Billion in Nine Steps
Honour	Knighted in the 2026 New Year Honours
Current Focus	Investing, mentoring founders, business education, and supporting scale-ups

Who Is Richard Harpin?

Richard David Harpin was born on September 10, 1964, in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, and grew up in Northumberland. He attended the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle and later studied economics at the University of York.

After university, Harpin worked in brand management at Procter & Gamble before moving into management consulting at Deloitte. Those roles gave him experience in marketing, consumer behaviour and business strategy before he launched his own venture.

How HomeServe Began

HomeServe was founded in 1993 as a joint venture with South Staffordshire Water. Harpin and business partner Jeremy Middleton had been exploring opportunities in property and home services before developing a model built around helping homeowners deal with emergency repairs.

The proposition was simple: customers could pay for cover that gave them access to assistance when plumbing, drainage or other domestic problems occurred. HomeServe says it reached one million UK customers by 1997, showing that the model could scale quickly once the proposition was established.

The company did not begin with a perfect formula. Harpin has repeatedly described early difficulties and changes to the business model, making the eventual growth story as much about adaptation as the original idea.

Growing HomeServe Into an International Business

HomeServe expanded beyond the UK by combining partnerships, acquisitions and new market launches. It entered France in 2001 through a joint venture with Veolia and launched in North America in 2003. In 2004, the company demerged from South Staffordshire Water and became separately listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Further expansion followed across Europe and other markets. By the later years of Harpin’s leadership, HomeServe served more than 8.5 million customers worldwide and had broadened from emergency cover into wider home repair, improvement and residential infrastructure services.

In 2017, HomeServe acquired a 70% interest in Checkatrade and also invested in Spain’s Habitissimo. The move strengthened its digital presence by connecting consumers with large networks of tradespeople.

The £4.1 Billion Brookfield Acquisition

The biggest financial milestone in Harpin’s HomeServe career came when funds associated with Brookfield Infrastructure acquired the company. The transaction valued HomeServe at approximately £4.1 billion and completed in early 2023 after being agreed the previous year.

Harpin stepped down from the chief executive role after the acquisition and remained involved as chairman during the transition. HomeServe’s 2024 accounts state that he resigned as a director on December 31, 2024, and he publicly marked the end of his chairmanship in January 2025.

That distinction is important because older profiles may still list him as HomeServe chairman. By 2026, his main public work is centred on investing, mentoring and business education rather than running HomeServe.

Growth Partner and Investing in Scale-Ups

Harpin established Growth Partner in 2015 to invest in ambitious founder-led businesses and help them scale. The firm describes itself as a team of investors and operators rather than a purely financial investor.

Its core strategy is minority growth equity, typically investing £5 million to £20 million in profitable, fast-growing consumer businesses with proven demand and strong leadership. Growth Partner’s portfolio spans areas such as apparel, food and drink, health and wellness, home and garden, services and travel.

The firm’s listed partners have included brands such as Gozney, Passenger, Stubble & Co and Host & Stay. Harpin’s approach reflects the belief that founders often need strategic and operational support alongside capital, particularly when hiring senior leaders, expanding distribution or building systems for larger-scale growth.

Business Leader and His Mentoring Mission

In 2023, Harpin acquired Business Leader, extending his focus on supporting UK founders and chief executives. Business Leader now operates as a peer community for established business leaders who want to scale their companies.

Harpin has argued that many mid-sized British companies have the potential to become much larger but can struggle with the decisions that accompany rapid growth. His work therefore emphasises practical frameworks, peer learning and access to people who have already faced similar challenges.

This fits closely with his broader philosophy: entrepreneurs can move faster when they study proven models, learn from experienced mentors and remain willing to change their own approach.

How to Make a Billion in Nine Steps

Harpin published How to Make a Billion in Nine Steps in July 2025. The book became a Sunday Times bestseller, and a paperback edition followed in July 2026.

The book turns lessons from the HomeServe journey into a practical framework for entrepreneurs. Its themes include learning from successful models and adapting them, finding suitable investment, using coaches or mentors, developing multiple routes to customers, hiring leaders who can take over major operating responsibilities, expanding internationally, evolving the business model and maintaining a “not-to-do” list.

Focus is a recurring idea in Harpin’s advice. He encourages founders to concentrate on what their companies can do exceptionally well rather than repeatedly moving into unrelated areas. He also uses his own business mistakes to show how losing sight of a core model can become expensive.

Business Philosophy, Recognition and Knighthood

Harpin’s advice often returns to three themes: customer focus, disciplined scaling and humility. He argues that growth depends on solving real customer problems, hiring strong people and building repeatable systems rather than relying on the founder to control every decision.

He has also written a business column for The Sunday Times and shares entrepreneurial lessons through workshops, newsletters and interviews.

His public recognition increased when he was named in the 2026 New Year Honours. The official announcement awarded Richard David Harpin a knighthood for services to politics. Since then, he has formally been styled Sir Richard Harpin.

What Is Richard Harpin Doing Now?

As of 2026, Harpin is primarily focused on Growth Partner, Business Leader and his business education activities. His own website describes his mission as helping ambitious founders and CEOs achieve breakthrough growth.

Growth Partner continues to back consumer businesses, while Business Leader brings entrepreneurs together through peer networks and growth programmes. Harpin also promotes the ideas from How to Make a Billion in Nine Steps through articles, workshops and his newsletter.

His career has therefore moved into a second phase: using the capital, experience and network created through HomeServe to help build the next generation of companies.

Conclusion

Richard Harpin’s reputation rests on building HomeServe from an early-stage home services venture into an international company serving millions of customers before its £4.1 billion acquisition by Brookfield.

His more recent work represents a deliberate shift from founder-CEO to investor, mentor and author. Through Growth Partner, Business Leader and How to Make a Billion in Nine Steps, Sir Richard Harpin is now focused on helping other entrepreneurs scale with greater discipline, avoid costly distractions and build stronger businesses.

FAQs

Who is Richard Harpin?

Sir Richard Harpin is a British entrepreneur, investor and author best known as the founder of HomeServe. He spent around three decades building the home repairs and assistance company before its acquisition in a deal valuing it at approximately £4.1 billion. He now focuses on investing and supporting entrepreneurs through Growth Partner and Business Leader.

When did Richard Harpin found HomeServe?

HomeServe was established in 1993 as a joint venture with South Staffordshire Water. The company initially focused on helping homeowners manage emergency repairs through membership-style cover before expanding internationally into a broader range of home services.

How much was HomeServe sold for?

HomeServe was acquired by Brookfield-related funds in a transaction valuing the company at approximately £4.1 billion. The takeover completed in early 2023. Harpin subsequently moved out of the chief executive role and later ended his chairmanship around the start of 2025.

What is Growth Partner?

Growth Partner is the investment business founded and backed by Richard Harpin. It invests mainly in high-growth consumer companies and combines capital with strategic and operational support. Its core minority investments are typically between £5 million and £20 million.

What book did Richard Harpin write?

Harpin wrote How to Make a Billion in Nine Steps, first published in July 2025. It became a Sunday Times bestseller and explains business lessons drawn from his experience building HomeServe, including leadership, investment, international growth, customer acquisition and focus.

Why is Richard Harpin called “Sir”?

Richard Harpin received a knighthood in the 2026 New Year Honours. The official announcement named Richard David Harpin as a Knight Bachelor for services to politics. He is therefore formally styled Sir Richard Harpin

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