Edinburgh-based startup SWURF has secured a six-figure funding and welcomed three extra business leaders to its board to attach underutilised venues with distant/hybrid staff.
The newest funding spherical consists of follow-on funding from Gareth Williams, Co-founder of Skyscanner, who has backed SWURF since 2022. The spherical was additionally supported by the Scottish Authorities’s Techscaler programme, Scottish Enterprise, and personal traders.
The brand new funds will speed up SWURF’s rollout throughout extra UK areas and choose European markets. Trying forward, the corporate is getting ready for an additional elevate of €1.1 million later this yr to gasoline international growth.
Nikki Gibson, CEO and Co-founder of SWURF, mentioned: “With Alison guiding our worldwide rollout, Scott shaping our tech technique, and Daniel bringing a confirmed observe file in tech innovation, strategic growth, and digital transformation, SWURF is positioned to develop with objective and precision.
“Their management is a game-changer as we take SWURF to new markets and new heights.”
Based in 2020 throughout the pandemic, SWURF gives a cell app that connects distant and hybrid professionals with underused hospitality venues – resembling cafés, inns, and co-working hubs – reworking them into dynamic off-peak workspaces. The platform allows entry to versatile working areas and goals to foster neighborhood engagement by unique perks and curated occasions.
In tandem with the funding, SWURF has made three strategic board appointments aimed toward strengthening its management for worldwide progress.
- Alison Grieve, Founding father of G-Maintain and an skilled in product innovation, joins as Chair of the Board.
- Scott Leckie, who beforehand served as SWURF’s fractional CTO, steps right into a everlasting board position to steer the corporate’s tech evolution.
- Daniel Rodgers, Founding father of hospitality tech success story QikServe, has been appointed Non-executive Director.
The app presently boasts a community of over 300 activated venues throughout the UK and has constructed a consumer base of greater than 11,000. Based on inside knowledge, it has generated roughly €2 million in income for its hospitality companions, highlighting the platform’s potential to create actual financial influence for venues throughout off-peak hours.
Alison Grieve, Chair of the Board at SWURF, mentioned: “In an financial atmosphere the place each hospitality and industrial property sectors are looking for new fashions of resilience, SWURF is concentrating on a fast-evolving phase of the versatile work economic system.
“This subsequent part of funding will assist us rework extra on a regular basis venues into productive, community-driven workspaces, powered by know-how and a hospitality-first mindset.”
Daniel Rodgers, Non-Government Director at SWURF, added: “SWURF solves an actual ache level for me. When travelling, it’s typically troublesome to seek out welcoming areas to work.
“I’m additionally obsessed with supporting hospitality to seek out new markets and alternatives. Swurfers usually spend £15–£30 per go to. By extending conventional service home windows, hospitality operators can faucet into this neighborhood and create incremental income that helps profitability and reduces waste.”
With a rising inhabitants of over 35 million digital nomads globally and growing demand for accessible, community-oriented workspaces, SWURF is rising as a notable participant within the intersection of hospitality and the way forward for work.
If it really works, the corporate’s mannequin gives a win-win for each venues and clients: it offers staff flexibility and connection, whereas serving to hospitality venues increase footfall and generate sustainable revenue outdoors peak hours.
