Fledgling Construction Carbon-Reduction Firm Raises £7M From Investors

A London-based technology firm seeking to reduce construction carbon has today raised more than £7M from investors to develop the business. Flow was launched in May 2018 by 2016 winner of NCE Graduate of the Year Brittany Harris with Jade Cohen, who she met in New York while volunteering for World Merit, which describes itself as “a platform for young and collaborative global citizens trying to make a positive impact in the world”. Flow created a digital platform enabling construction teams to collect real-time materials and waste data to inform decisions on cost, carbon and quality. After raising £2.4M across two rounds of seed funding, the firm has now secured a further £7.2M in a Series A investment process. The Series A financing demonstrates the progress Flow has made already and the potential investors see in its growth as such an investment often refers to the first round of venture capital funding a firm raises after seed and angel investors. Flow said it would scale up its UK operations with the money as well as growing its presence in the US and Australia. The company had just 10 members of staff four years ago but has grown this to 30 and aims to treble that figure by the end of next year. Harris said: “Jade and I love the construction industry, it literally builds the world around us. But for it to build the sustainable future we need, it must change and reduce its negative impacts on our planet.

“To Us, It Was Clear We Had To Tackle Our Own Industry.

to have a chance of leaving this world in a better place, and this is why we founded Flow. “The support we’ve received from big players in the sector [through this new investment] shows they also see the importance of changing processes and accelerating this transformation towards a more sustainable future.” Developer Grosvenor, former Lendlease property chief John Emery and Bridge Investment Group are among the names pouring cash into Flow in the latest round of funding. Grosvenor Property UK innovation director Andy Doyle said the developer saw “real potential” in Flow’s technology. “It makes the management of deliveries and waste much easier for our onsite teams and provides greater accuracy and accountability in our environmental reporting,” he said. “To create circular supply chains in construction, we must be able to reliably account for what happens with construction waste – Flow provides this clarity.”