Furbnow raises £2.5m led by West Midlands Co-Investment Fund and Nesta
This article covers Furbnow, a greentech startup that has raised £2.5m in a seed funding round led by the West Midlands Co-Investment Fund at Future Planet Capital Regional. The funding will be used to grow the team, develop the technology platform and roll out service offerings across the UK to support scaling of home retrofit and improve energy efficiency for homeowners.
Furbnow, a greentech startup focused on home energy efficiency, has raised £2.5 million in a seed funding round led by the West Midlands Co-Investment Fund at Future Planet Capital Regional, with participation from Nesta, Wrightwood Investments, Danny Luhde-Thompson, SFC Capital (follow-on) and several angel investors. The funding will be used to grow the team, develop the technology platform further and roll out service offerings across the United Kingdom — a timely boost for efforts to speed up home retrofit at scale.
Why it matters
Home retrofit remains one of the trickiest pieces of the UK’s net-zero puzzle. Millions of homeowners want warmer, cheaper-to-run homes but often abandon projects when faced with conflicting advice, opaque quotes and a crowded supply chain. Government and watchdog figures underline the scale: the UK estimates 29 million homes will need retrofitting with low-carbon heating and energy-saving measures by 2050, the Climate Change Committee puts additional investment needs at around £162 billion for 2020–2050, and the National Audit Office says heating homes accounts for about 18% of UK greenhouse gas emissions.
Digital tools that reduce cost and complexity could change the economics and customer journey for retrofit. The deal also signals continued interest from greentech investors in businesses that bridge software and delivery models for built-environment decarbonisation.
Inside the product
Furbnow offers an end-to-end homeowner platform that starts with an automated, personalised energy assessment and produces a staged "home energy plan" outlining improvements over time. The company then coordinates delivery by third-party contractors, positioning itself as a single point of oversight for planning through installation.
Central to the product is what Furbnow calls a "Home Digital Twin": a living digital model of a property that integrates real-time sensor data to improve energy modelling. The company claims prediction accuracy above 90%, assessment costs reduced by roughly 95%, and processing times cut from days to under an hour. Those metrics, if verifiable at scale, could materially reduce advisory costs and the friction that deters many homeowners from progressing.
Who are the investors?
The round was led by the West Midlands Co-Investment Fund at Future Planet Capital Regional. Co-investors include Nesta, Wrightwood Investments, angel investors such as Danny Luhde-Thompson, and SFC Capital (noted as a follow-on investor). The West Midlands backing is notable: the co-investment fund aims to accelerate innovative SMEs that can drive regional economic growth and deliver public-value outcomes, including energy efficiency improvements in public buildings and tackling fuel poverty.
In the announcement, Huw Sparkes, Investor at Future Planet Capital Regional, said:
Furbnow's platform is a game-changer for the residential retrofit market. By automating assessments and streamlining project management, Furbnow is making home decarbonisation achievable at scale. This investment aligns perfectly with Future Planet Capital's mission to back companies with both high-growth potential and a strong commitment to addressing global challenges.
In the announcement, Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said:
Green industries are one of the fastest-growing parts of our economy, and I want the West Midlands to stay ahead of the game. That's why it's essential we back innovative businesses like Furbnow which have the ideas and technical know-how to improve people's lives and create skilled jobs. We're already investing millions in bringing homes, businesses, libraries, schools, and leisure centres up to modern energy standards, tackling fuel poverty and protecting the vital public services people rely on every day. Furbnow's technology is made in Birmingham, but it has the potential to help build a more sustainable, prosperous future for people and businesses far beyond our region.
In the announcement, Paul Nevin, Director of Investment Strategy at West Midlands Pension Fund, said:
The West Midlands Co-Investment Fund was launched to accelerate and support the success of innovative SMEs driving the region's future economy. Furbnow is a prime example of this focus on scalable, high-impact SMEs capable of delivering strong investment returns, boosting regional economic growth, tackling global environmental challenges and adding real value to people across the West Midlands and the UK.
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Founder perspective
In the announcement, Becky Lane, Co-founder & CEO at Furbnow, said:
We are thrilled to partner with the West Midlands Co-Investment Fund and our co-investors as we enter this exciting new phase of growth. I started Furbnow out of frustration with my own experience of improving the energy efficiency of my own home and delivering large-scale retrofit programmes - I knew we needed something better to give people what they need to invest in their homes' energy performance. This investment will enable us to accelerate product development, and scale our relationships with suppliers. Our mission is to make sustainable homes accessible to everyone, and this funding brings us one step closer to making a significant environmental and economic impact.
The bigger picture
This seed round sits at the intersection of software-driven greentech and construction/delivery models, a space gaining traction as governments and regulators push for faster retrofit. Furbnow’s emphasis on digitising assessments and coordinating installations responds directly to common bottlenecks: high advisory costs, slow processing and poor customer trust.
For the West Midlands, the investment also feeds a regional strategy to build local green jobs and retrofit public estate assets. For the wider UK and European market, the challenge will be proving the platform’s performance across diverse housing stocks and contractor networks. If Furbnow can replicate its claimed accuracy and cost reductions at scale, it may become a replicable model for accelerating household-level decarbonisation across the region.
They've invested in Furbnow
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| Investors | Investment Focus | Startup Investments | Round Size | Connect |
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 West Midlands Co-Investment Fund at Future Planet Capital Regional( ) | ||||
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