Dorset manufacturer Circular11 has raised £2.4 million in equity funding to scale a composite lumber it makes from plastic waste that conventional methods cannot recycle, with the timber substitute aimed at outdoor construction. That is according to Circular 11, which said the round would fund an expansion to recycle an estimated 10,000 tonnes of plastic over the next two years.
Because most plastics cannot be returned to their original purity, they prove too unreliable for conventional manufacturing and are routinely incinerated, a fate Circular11 considers wasted feedstock. The company’s process adapts to variations in that low-quality plastic, turning it into boards it offers as an alternative to sawn timber for outdoor use.
Chief executive Benjamin Gibbons said the funding gave Circular11 the resources to scale manufacturing whilst responding to pressure on the industry to find better uses for plastic waste. “Every tonne of plastic that gets incinerated is a missed opportunity,” Gibbons said.
Led by Vectr7 Investment Partners, with The FSE Group as co-lead, the round raised £630,000 from the British Business Bank’s South West Investment Fund through FSE. The FSE Investor Network, the Oxford Innovation Network, and private investors also took part, alongside an Innovate UK grant.
Vectr7 founder and managing partner Dominic Wilson said tightening supply in timber markets was pushing construction and manufacturing towards substitutes, and that his firm was backing the company’s next stage of growth. “The construction and manufacturing industries need sustainable alternatives,” Wilson said.
Whilst traditional timber remains the sector benchmark, Circular11 says its boards offer longer lifespans, lower maintenance costs, and divert plastic that would otherwise be burned. The company, founded in 2021, has built its model around a feedstock stream that recyclers and manufacturers generally cannot use.
The British Business Bank has backed the company before, with senior investment manager Lizzy Upton saying it supported Circular11 through its Start Up Loans programme in 2024. That earlier funding now sits behind a business the South West Investment Fund has returned to, this time with £630,000 inside the £2.4 million round.
