Investor Profile: Circularity Capital — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Circularity Capital is an Edinburgh-based specialist investor that backs only one kind of business: companies whose circular-economy model is the source of their competitive edge. Founded in 2015, it is the reference growth investor for European firms turning waste, reuse and product-as-a-service into profit. For founders in this space, Circularity Capital funding means a backer that understands the model before the first meeting.

Investment thesis

The thesis is that circular characteristics should drive returns, not sit alongside them as a side benefit. The firm looks for businesses that decouple growth from intense resource use, so selling more does not mean consuming proportionally more virgin material. Its strategies include extending asset lives, improving asset utilisation, and keeping materials and products in use over multiple cycles. Its second fund is classified as Article 9 under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, reserved for funds with a sustainable investment objective.

Sectors and stages

Circularity Capital invests in growth-stage businesses across Europe, . It covers recycling, reuse and rental, food-waste tech, sustainable packaging and asset-life extension. Typical targets are established, revenue-generating small and medium-sized firms ready to scale, rather than pre-revenue start-ups.

Fund size and cheque size

The firm closed its debut fund at £60 million in 2018 and its second fund, the Circularity European Growth Fund II, at an oversubscribed €215 million in 2022 — described at the time as the largest specialist circular-economy private equity fund in the world, three times its predecessor. A standard cheque size for the current fund is not publicly disclosed. For scale, it invested £8 million in coating specialist P2i in 2021.

Notable portfolio

Grover, the consumer-tech subscription platform, passed a one-billion-dollar valuation after a $330 million round. Shark Solutions is a global leader in advanced recycled PVB products and was named one of Bloomberg's 50 Global Positive Change Leaders. ZigZag, a software platform for eliminating retail returns waste, was sold to NYSE-listed Global Blue in March 2021. Other names include food-waste specialist Winnow Solutions, packaging manufacturer PackBenefit, and later additions CERAFILTEC, Bike Club and ReBike.

Partners

The firm was founded by Jamie Butterworth, formerly chief executive of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and Ian Nolan, former chief investment officer of 3i Group and the first chief investment officer of the UK Green Investment Bank. Nolan chairs the investment committee and leads strategy and deployment. Co-founders David Mowat and Andrew Shannon add further private-equity experience.

Programs, credits and perks

Circularity Capital does not run a public accelerator or a published cloud-credits programme, and founders should not expect one. Its support is hands-on: operating principals help portfolio teams with circular business models, impact measurement and network introductions. Its BVCA Excellence in Impact Awards gold recognised that engagement.

How to apply for funding

There is no public application portal, so learning how to get funding from Circularity Capital means approaching the firm directly and well prepared — through its website and Edinburgh office, ideally with a warm introduction from a portfolio founder, co-investor or circular-economy network contact. The strongest pitch evidences the circular advantage in numbers: unit economics that improve as reuse scales, and credibly measured impact.