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There aren't too many occasions in the UK social housing IT market when an innovative, relatively young supplier genuinely shakes things up, wins customers and, perhaps more importantly, keeps them happy.
Rubixx in its original form appears to have managed exactly that. I've encountered plenty of satisfied Rubixx customers over recent years, something that isn't always easy to find in the housing management systems market. I've also recently been involved with Hanover Scotland on a particularly successful Rubixx procurement and implementation, as Critical Friend, where I've seen first-hand what can be achieved when a committed social housing provider and a responsive software supplier work properly together. It's refreshing when implementation meetings are mostly about making progress rather than compiling another list of reasons why something can't be delivered!
Also, a supplier keen on multiple occasions to tell us, "We are not for sale".
So the late September 2026 announcement that Rubixx, alongside Voicescape, has been acquired by the newly formed Elevare Software Group, backed (inevitably) by private equity investor Livingbridge, is certainly interesting. Elevare is led by experienced ex-Capita software industry executives David Lockie and Elona Mortimer-Zhika, bringing considerable experience of growing technology businesses. The group has made much of its intentions to invest, innovate and help these businesses grow while retaining their identities. All sounds rather promising, doesn't it? And with Voicescape's established strengths in resident engagement, automation and predictive income collection alongside Rubixx's cloud-based housing management and finance capabilities, there are some potentially attractive opportunities for social landlords.
One particular historic challenge that Rubixx has had is cracking the larger landlords, many of which I am sure would have welcomed their refreshing approach. Lack of significant cash reserves, ISO this that and the other etc, plus the more onerous requirements that larger providers rightly have, do connive to blunt Rubixx capability in that part of the sector. Maybe this move will shore up ability to respond to more voluminous requirements and the risk profile of bigger RSLs. Few bigger contracting bodies are comfortable with a five page contract unfortunately.
What interests me most, however, isn't the ownership structure, investment headlines or the inevitable talk of AI transforming absolutely everything before we've even finished our last brew. It's what happens to Rubixx's existing and generally extremely royal customers. From my experience, one of the company's strongest selling points has been the accessibility of its people, responsiveness to customer requirements and willingness to get things sorted.
Smaller suppliers can sometimes achieve something their larger competitors struggle with: customers actually feel that somebody is listening. I've seen enough housing IT implementations over nearly three decades to recognise that this is worth considerably more than another glossy product roadmap. Rubixx's new owners would be wise to recognise that they've acquired more than software and recurring revenue. They've acquired a reputation and some hard-earned customer goodwill. Substantial releases every eight weeks another key attraction.
Of course, additional investment could be excellent news. More experienced developers, implementation consultants, customer support specialists, more AI capabilities and product experts could help Rubixx further accelerate development, strengthen delivery capacity and compete for larger housing association contracts. The opportunity to recruit talented people, potentially including some with experience of larger housing software businesses such as Capita, could bring valuable knowledge and discipline. But here's the rub: more people don't automatically mean better service. I've witnessed suppliers grow their headcount, introduce several exciting new management layers and somehow make it harder for customers to speak to anyone who actually knows the answer. That's quite an achievement, although probably not one to put in the annual report!
There are also some interesting questions about where Elevare takes its new housing technology portfolio. Will Rubixx and Voicescape remain distinct, complementary solutions, or will customers eventually see deeper integration across housing management, customer engagement, income recovery and automation? Could the investment make Rubixx a more credible contender for medium-sized and larger landlords that might previously have considered it too small? Certainly a sector segment where Rubixx has historically not been seen, And critically, will growth be supported by the same straightforward customer relationships and implementation approach that have helped establish its reputation? Existing customers will understandably want continuity, stability and an improving product. Prospective customers will want evidence that the additional financial backing translates into greater capability rather than simply bigger sales targets and more communication layers.
Personally, I welcome the investment and hope it proves a tremendous success. I have known Simon Reay for over a couple of decades and I have confidence his heart is in the right place. I trust his change in direction is for the long term, don't let your believers down fella.
The ever shrinking UK social housing IT market needs credible competition more than ever, fresh thinking and suppliers prepared to challenge some of the established names. Rubixx has demonstrated that there's room for a different approach, and my own experiences, particularly at Hanover Scotland, give me good reason to be optimistic.
The real test now for Elevare won't be how quickly it expands or how many impressive industry executives it recruits. It'll be whether those existing Rubixx customers are still singing its praises in two or three years. If the new owners can combine greater financial strength and technical capacity with the personal service that helped Rubixx succeed, they'll have achieved something rather special. Just don't turn a good, responsive software company into another corporate sausage machine, where customers need a reference number, three escalations and a committee meeting to get something fixed!
Related Post: Before rushing to market, research it and warm it up
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Rory Gallagher - Bought & Sold
(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009
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