London start-up Reboxed secures £1.6m for sustainable tech retail growth

London-based sustainable tech start-up, Reboxed, specialising in rehoming electronics to combat the e-waste crisis, has successfully secured £1.6 million of seed funding in a round led by ACF Investors.

Founded in 2020 by former musician Phil Kemish and co-founder Matt Thorne, Reboxed has developed a re-commence platform to link businesses and consumers, offering an enhanced and sustainable solution for buying and selling electronic devices. The company has ambitious plans to rehome 100 million devices by 2030.

The start-up already boasts significant clients within the telecoms sector, including Three Mobile. This collaboration has allowed the launch of a refurbished technology offering for customers of SMARTY, a subsidiary of Three Mobile.

This latest influx of funding is intended to facilitate growth by enhancing Reboxed's retail partner programmes and its 'Reboxed for business' service. Among its existing investors are Ali-A, a well-known YouTuber with a following of over 20 million subscribers, Martin McCourt, ex-CEO of Dyson, Nick Beighton, ex-CEO of ASOS, previous founders of Mazuma and Envirophone, and the Ministry of Sound group.

Every year, the consumption of technology results in over 50 million tonnes of e-waste. Each new device produces a carbon footprint equivalent to 79kg of CO2. As an alternative, consumers and retailers are turning to recommerce solutions to reduce CO2 emissions. Recent data shows that 22 million Brits have considered investing in a refurbished phone.

Reboxed aims to connect businesses and customers with a more environmentally friendly approach to purchasing technology. The company offers high-quality, refurbished technology, including phones, laptops, tablets and smartwatches. Reboxed's approach is focused on quality, consistency and creating a truly circular system.

The company is recognised for its quick growth enabling clients in the telecoms sector like Three Mobile to provide refurbished technology to SMARTY's customers, without the latter investing in infrastructure.

Co-founder and CEO of Reboxed, Phil Kemish stated, "We want to give everyone access to high quality, great value tech, with a flexible, hassle-free experience. Rising ESG pressures mean businesses are seeking integrated solutions to achieve their climate targets."

"Reboxed's sustainable services assist businesses in doing precisely that. This most recent investment will support the expansion of our growing team, advance our technology stack and scale the brand."

Tim Mills, Managing Partner at ACF Investors, commented, "The awareness for sustainability is fundamentally altering the retail landscape, promoting more responsible consumption. Recommerce is at the forefront of this shift, growing 11 times faster than traditional retail."

"Too often, sustainability comes with compromises at a customer level. We are thus thrilled to back the Reboxed team as they redefine benchmarks by availing premium like-new products to UK consumers, while harnessing the advantages of recommerce."