Lateral secures £2.5m seed to launch over‑60s nurse‑led care and private cover
This article covers Lateral, a healthtech startup, which has raised £2.5m in a seed funding round to launch a combined health and financial wellbeing product aimed at people over 60. The funding will support rollout of the Lateral Health Plan, a nurse-led care navigation and private-care cover product designed to help people over 60 access and fund care alongside NHS services.
Lateral, a healthtech startup co-founded by Laura Ashforth and Steven Mendel, has raised £2.5 million in a seed funding round to launch a combined health and financial wellbeing product aimed at people over 60. The funding will underwrite the rollout of the Lateral Health Plan, a nurse-led care navigation and private-care cover product that seeks to sit alongside the NHS rather than replace it.
Why it matters
The UK faces an ageing population: more than 14.5 million people are now over 60, a figure projected to exceed 17 million by 2040. That demographic shift has already created a sizeable self-pay healthcare market — the release cites a £1.6bn market driven by over-60s who increasingly pay for care without structured guidance. Lateral’s product aims to address gaps in how older adults access and fund care, positioning itself as a bridge between NHS provision and private options for those who want them.
Inside the product
Lateral’s first product, the Lateral Health Plan, is designed for people in their 60s and 70s who are fit and active. It bundles three core elements: financial cover for private healthcare, nurse-led care navigation, and preventative "stay-healthy" benefits. The navigation service is run by qualified case-management nurses to help members understand diagnoses, explore treatment pathways, and make decisions that wrap around NHS services.
The company says it will prioritise simple, transparent pricing so members know year-to-year costs. The release gives a pricing example: a 67 year old would pay about £150 per month. Lateral intends to launch the plan in January 2026.
Who are the investors?
The seed round was led by Augmentum with participation from Triple Point and TinyVC. The £2.5 million will be used to support the product rollout and initial market entry for the Lateral Health Plan.
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Founder perspective
Laura Ashforth, Co-founder and CEO of Lateral, said:
We’re on a mission to empower over 60s to live well for longer, helping them navigate the complicated world of retirement by offering them an affordable range of products expertly created just for them.
Many people find the health system increasingly hard to navigate as they get older. Lateral is designed to help members understand their options and make informed choices about care, while also embedding evidence-based preventative approaches, such as an annual health check, to support proactive engagement with their health.
Steven Mendel, Co-founder and Executive Chair at Lateral, said:
People are living longer and with more active lives, yet the systems designed to support them haven’t kept up. For far too long, insurers have viewed people over 60 as old, immobile, and liable to injury. The reality is that many people in their 60s and 70s are fitter and more active than ever. For them, retirement is a chance to do more, not less.
The bigger picture
The founders’ backgrounds are relevant to Lateral’s positioning: Ashforth was previously managing director at insurtech unicorn Zego and Mendel co-founded and led pet health insurer ManyPets, giving the team experience in designing insurance products and building customer-facing health offerings. The product reflects a broader trend of startups tailoring services to older adults rather than treating them as a homogeneous risk group.
The deal also underscores growing investor attention to services addressing ageing and healthcare navigation. The company’s approach — combining navigation, preventative care and transparent pricing while integrating with the NHS — will be one to watch as regulators and providers continue to steer care pathways for an older population.
This funding round is another signal that UK healthtech innovation is increasingly focusing on age-related care and financial wellbeing. How Lateral converts its concept into scalable, clinically robust services will be indicative of whether similar models can win both customers and buy-in from the wider healthcare ecosystem in the UK and Europe.
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