YardLink secures £1.7M Seed Follow On investment led by Speedinvest

This article was originally posted on UK Tech News on November 17, 2020.

YardLink raises £1.7m to power a faster, more efficient construction industry

• YardLink helps the construction industry move faster by speeding up equipment rental
• £1.7m round led by Speedinvest Network Effects to scale up operations and further enhance its platform
• A more efficient construction industry could be worth $1.6 trillion to the world economy
• The Covid-19 pandemic has spurred growth for the startup, with 4x monthly revenue growth since March

LONDON, UK: YardLink, a UK startup serving the construction industry, has raised £1.7m in a round led by the Speedinvest Network Effects investment team with participation from FJ Labs. It brings the total raised by the company to £2.4m.

YardLink is transforming the expectations of construction companies by allowing them to obtain critical equipment like excavators, site cabins and aerial platforms much faster than traditional equipment rental companies. YardLink focuses on offering the highest availability of local equipment, at the best price. The startup’s network of more than 100, fully-vetted suppliers with over 1,400 equipment depots across the UK means YardLink can guarantee next day delivery on core equipment, and arrange delivery within a third of the distance of more established competitors.

Faster equipment deliveries minimise downtime on construction sites, helping jobs get finished on time. And it’s the impact this speed can have that demonstrates YardLink’s real potential. A more efficient construction industry could be worth $1.6 trillion to the world economy, according to the McKinsey Global Institute.

YardLink has served 3,000 UK construction projects since April 2018. Projects can span anything from a new house build lasting 12 months, to a large multi-year infrastructure project, and the company rents multiple types of equipment to a single project.

Covid-19 spurs growth for YardLink

The pandemic has been challenging for the construction sector, but as work on sites resumed earlier in the year, YardLink’s flexible network of suppliers and digital-first approach allowed it to serve the industry’s evolving demands. This has contributed to the company seeing 4x growth in monthly revenue since lockdown began in March this year.

“The construction industry faces new guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus, such as having to provide portable site cabins and accommodation for its workforce. This, coupled with tight availability in the market and more demand for renting equipment, rather than buying it, has helped us prove our worth across the UK,” says YardLink founder and CEO Neeral Shah. “Using technology to better coordinate and speed-up the supply chain is having a real impact on productivity within the industry at a difficult time.”

YardLink will use the new funding to expand its sales, operations, and technical teams, and to further develop its equipment rental platform’s footprint across the UK ahead of later international expansion. In the future it plans to digitise more of the construction procurement workflow to help drive even greater efficiencies.

“We’re excited to invest in YardLink at a time when the construction industry is going through rapid transformation and is in desperate need of innovation,” says Mathias Ockenfels, Lead Partner at Speedinvest Network Effects. “With a flexible, highly automated and scalable product, Neeral and his team are in prime position to sustainably transform construction procurement with a platform approach.”