Verdane leads scale up funding round for circular economy leader NORNORM

Verdane, the European specialist growth equity investor, through its impact fund Idun, has invested in NORNORM, a Danish furniture-as-a-service company. NORNORM provides businesses with sustainable and cost-efficient office furniture that has a 3x longer lifespan than traditional office furniture. The partnership, in which Verdane leads a scale-up financing of €110 million, will draw on Verdane’s deep expertise in sustainability and circular B2B business models, its international network, and its in-house team of operating scale-up advisors.

The Covid-19 pandemic transformed society’s approach to work, forcing many businesses to adopt remote or hybrid models, which resulted in a decreased appetite for businesses to own their own office furniture. This fact, coupled with the increased appetite for society to pivot away from the linear economy and into the circular, makes NORNORM a particularly attractive investment which has significant impact potential to disrupt the inefficient existing B2B furniture value chain.

NORNORM provides service solutions through a subscription model, which eliminates balance sheet risk for commercial landlords and other companies that need to furnish their offices. NORNORM purchases high-quality furniture from selected brands with the aim of increasing the furniture’s lifetime by three times through periodic service and maintenance.

NORNORM is also reinventing the supply chain through AI-driven transportation routes, electrified fleet vehicles and packing systems optimizing space utilization. With the help of an early partnership with the Swedish furniture giant, IKEA, NORNORM has scaled its sourcing, logistics and refurbishment, providing lower prices and more flexibility to customers. Furthermore, IKEA’s network and logistics know-how enables NORNORM to deliver installations in a much faster time, providing customers with flexibility. This partnership, coupled with Verdane’s expertise in working with high-growth, tech-enabled B2B businesses, will enable NORNORM to scale into new markets and support its digital and sustainability capabilities, helping to contribute to tackling the furniture waste generated by existing, linear models.

“To grow and adapt to the future, all companies need to rethink and fully adopt circular models, and move away from the linear business model. This is just the beginning of the movement. All industries will be affected, and to survive and thrive business leaders have to be prepared to change. The circular movement will have a bigger impact on industries than the Internet revolution,” commented Jonas Kjellberg, co-founder and Chairman at NORNORM.

“NORNORM is well loved by the world’s most innovative businesses, who know that reducing their own carbon footprints is a key part of solving the climate crisis. A systemic shift from single use to circular is needed across the economy; this is a key investment thesis for Verdane. NORNORM aims to extend the lifetime of office furniture from six years to 20, or even 30 years. Given most office furniture still ends up in a landfill, this would be a significant step change for the circular economy. We’re delighted to back Anders, Jonas and their excellent team as they scale the Furnitureas-a-Service model globally. We’re excited to see such a strong response from customers – NORNORM are creating a ‘new normal’ that clearly resonates with forward-thinking business leaders,” said Erik Osmundsen, Partner at Verdane.

The investment was made from Verdane’s Idun I fund, which is classified as “Article 9” under the European Union’s Finance Disclosure Regulation, and which closed in January 2022 at its hard cap of €300 million, over its target fund size of €225 million. Idun makes investments in companies focused on impact and sustainability. Previous investments include Auntie, a digital provider of workplace wellbeing services; in Spond, a digital enabler of grassroot sports and physical health; and EVA Global, a managed services provider supporting the global shift to electric vehicles. To date, Verdane has invested in over 30 sustainable businesses.

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About NORNORM
NORNORM provides businesses with attractive workplace furniture solutions based on a subscription model. Requiring neither investment nor long-term commitment, it offers flexibility to scale up or down as the company grows or downsizes. The concept is built on circularity, where every piece of furniture is kept in a loop from one workspace to the next, and every product is carefully maintained and refurbished to extend its lifespan. This is good for business, people, and the planet. Backed by Inter IKEA, Verdane, Philian AB and Coen van Oostrom, NORNORM is on a mission to redefine the future of work by creating a fully circular business model for workspace furniture.
NORNORM is not just a concept, a company, or a service — it is a new and circular way of doing business. NORNORM is a multiple award-winning concept and has been generously rewarded within the PropTech industry in both the Nordics, Germany and the EU. NORNORM is operating in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Poland and the expansion continues.
For more information, visit www.nornorm.com

About Verdane
Verdane is a specialist growth equity investment firm that partners with tech-enabled and sustainable European businesses to help them reach the next stage of international growth. Verdane can invest as a minority or majority investor, either in single companies or through portfolios of companies. Verdane funds hold over €4 billion in total commitments and have made over 140 investments in fast-growing businesses since 2003. Verdane’s team of over 130 investment professionals and operating experts, based out of Berlin, Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, Oslo and Stockholm, is dedicated to being the preferred growth partner to tech-enabled and sustainable businesses in Europe.
More info: www.verdane.com