Channel 4 Ventures has invested £3.5 million in Airtasker, a local services marketplace, in return for a 20% stake.

The investment, brokered by the broadcaster’s media-for-equity arm, will enable the brand to accelerate its UK marketplace growth through access to Channel 4’s extensive monthly reach of 47 million, or 78% of the UK population.

The move follows Airtasker recently announcing Cass O’Connor as the new chair of its board, due to take up her post on 1 July 2023.

With experience in strategy, technology and digital media, it is hoped O’Connor will help drive the company’s current and future media partnership opportunities.

“We are super excited to welcome Channel 4 Ventures as a strategic partner in Airtasker UK,” Airtasker founder and CEO, Tim Fung, said.

He added: “In Australia, we were able to leverage the power of television to make Airtasker a household brand and achieve 20x revenue growth over 5 years together with Seven West Media – and we believe we can do even better with Channel 4 in the UK!”

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Channel 4 Ventures head, Vinay Solanki, commented: “We’re looking forward to partnering with Airtasker to help support the launch of this unique marketplace in the UK.

“A key strength of the company is that it enables people to earn additional income through flexible working on their own terms which will no doubt be a benefit to audiences during the current economic climate.”

She added: “We hope that Airtasker’s brand will quickly realise the significant reach and awareness that is only possible through the powerful medium of TV advertising.”

Channel 4’s video-on-demand service currently sees over 1.2 billion views per year.