Protected deposits.
Trusted projects.
Milestone-based payment protection for homeowners and contractors. Funds are held in escrow-style infrastructure and released only when work is verified.
*Metrics are simulated projections based on BuildVault's milestone-based payment architecture models compared against traditional banking delays and reported UK fraud statistics.
A £40bn industry runs on goodwill — and breaks because of it.
Home improvement payments still move through bank transfers and credit cards designed for retail. Neither protects either side of the table. The result: a structural mistrust that costs both parties billions.
- H.01Deposit fraud
Funds vanish before work begins. No recovery path.
- H.02Contractor abandonment
Half-built sites. Sunk capital. No legal leverage.
- H.03Budget uncertainty
Scope creep, surprise invoices, opaque draws.
- C.01Late or partial payment
Cash flow stalls when homeowners delay or contest.
- C.02Verification limbo
Completed work waits weeks for sign-off.
- C.03Cash flow pressure
Materials and crews funded on personal credit.
Four steps. One protected flow.
Every BuildVault project moves through the same four-stage protocol. Each stage is independently verifiable and recorded to an audit-grade ledger.
Secure deposit vault
Homeowner deposits the full project budget into a regulated holding account. Funds are ring-fenced, never touched by BuildVault, never accessible to either party.
- Regulated PSP custody
- Ring-fenced safeguarding via FCA-authorised payment partners
- Per-project ring-fence
*Funds are safeguarded by FCA-authorised partner institutions under the Payment Services Regulations, not directly covered by the FSCS deposit guarantee scheme.
Verified milestones
Project is broken into milestones at contract signing. Contractor submits proof of completion. Homeowner approves — or independent inspector verifies in dispute scenarios.
- Photo / doc evidence
- Two-party sign-off
- Optional 3rd-party inspector
Automated releases
On verification, the milestone tranche releases to the contractor automatically. Payout settles in hours, not weeks. The vault recalculates remaining balance in real time.
- T+0 instant settlement
- Programmatic release rules
- Audit-grade ledger
Dispute protection
Structured resolution framework: clarify, mediate, escalate. Funds stay protected throughout. Both parties get a clear path forward through a structured, pre-litigation resolution framework.
- 48h response window
- Independent mediation & expert adjudication framework
- Designed to resolve conflicts before legal escalation while preserving statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
Every alternative was built for a different problem.
The instruments homeowners and contractors currently rely on were designed for retail, e-commerce, or one-off legal escrow — not for staged, milestone-driven construction work.
| Feature | Bank transfer | Credit cards | Escrow lawyers | BuildVault◆ this |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fraud protection | None | Partial | Yes | Yes |
| Milestone verification | None | None | Partial | Yes |
| Dispute resolution | None | Partial | Yes | Yes |
| Settlement speed | Instant | T+2 | Weeks | T+0 verified |
| Cost (per £100k project) | £0 | ~£2,800 | £2k–£8k | ~£600 |
| Built for construction | None | None | Partial | Yes |
| Regulatory framework | Partial | Partial | Yes | Yes |
A multi-billion £ industry with virtually no native payment infrastructure.
The UK home improvement market processes tens of billions annually. The vast majority moves through instruments built for retail or generic banking — leaving an open lane for purpose-built protection.
UK home improvement spend (2025)
Projects £10k–£250k in scope
Year-5 platform throughput target
UK home improvement projects / year
Homeowners cite payment trust as #1 concern
Average contractor payment delay
Figures shown are target / estimated model projections based on public UK market data and BuildVault internal assumptions.
Infrastructure-grade economics with five compounding lines.
Each verified milestone earns a per-transaction fee. SaaS and partner lines layer on top — turning every active project into recurring revenue.
Transaction fees
0.5–0.8% per protected milestone release.
Contractor SaaS
Project management + payout tooling tier.
Verification subscriptions
Premium inspections + automated checks.
Insurance Distribution Partnerships
Referral and integration arrangements with FCA-authorised insurance brokers for contract works and warranty coverage.
Dispute resolution
Premium mediation and adjudication tier.
blended rev / £100k project
Revenue lines and unit economics reflect BuildVault's target model based on projected transaction volume — not audited financial results.
Platform notice: BuildVault is a technology platform. Payment escrow, processing, and custody services are provided through FCA-authorised Payment Service Providers and E-Money Institutions.
A reinforced foundation, not a wrapper.
BuildVault is engineered around the regulatory reality of consumer payments and construction. Compliance is structural — not retrofitted.
Safeguarded Client Funds
Customer deposits are held in dedicated, segregated accounts with FCA-authorised Payment Institutions (PSPs). Funds are safeguarded under the Payment Services Regulations and are kept completely separate from BuildVault's operational assets.
KYC / AML by default
Identity verification on every party. PEP and sanctions screening at onboarding and on-going.
Consumer-rights aligned
Built around UK consumer-protection norms and Section 75-style assurances.
Audit-grade ledger
Every movement timestamped, signed, and exportable. Designed for regulatory disclosure.
BuildVault sits at the centre of the construction-payments stack.
A protocol layer for protected payments — interoperable with PSPs, insurers, regulators, and trade bodies. The trust fabric for an entire industry.
Payment providers
Stripe · Modulr · ClearBank
Insurers
Contract works · warranty
BuildVault facilitates integrations with FCA-regulated insurers and brokers. BuildVault does not directly underwrite or distribute insurance policies.
Local authorities
Building control feeds
Trade associations
FMB · TrustMark · NICEIC
Verification partners
Independent surveyors
Legal & ADR
Mediation panels
Enterprise-grade control surface for every protected project.
A single workspace for homeowners, contractors, and verifiers. Live milestone state, deposit ledger, payout queue, and dispute flags — all on one canvas.
Oak House Extension
- VRF-0042M3 · Shell completion£24,800Awaiting
- VRF-0041M2 · Foundation pour£18,200Released
- VRF-0040M1 · Strip-out£20,400Released
Help redefine trust in construction payments.
We're building the protected-payment layer for the next decade of home improvement. Investors and early customers welcome.
Be first on the platform.
Homeowners, contractors, and partners. Early cohort gets fee-free milestones for the first 12 months.
Request the investor deck.
Raising to ship the MVP, secure FCA pathway, and onboard the first 100 contractors.
Restricted to High Net Worth, Certified Sophisticated, and Institutional investors under FSMA 2000.