Birl Secures £500K to Revolutionize Resale in Fashion and Sports

Liverpool-based tech startup Birl has raised £500k in pre-seed funding to fuel its growth strategy.

This investment unlocks an additional £350k Innovate UK grant awarded earlier this year, which will support Birl’s next phase of product development and expansion into new markets.

Birl enables consumers to trade in pre-owned clothing directly on brand websites, providing a streamlined alternative to platforms like eBay and Vinted.

Each year, over 100 billion clothing items are produced, but less than 5% are resold, contributing to enormous waste.

Birl’s mission is to use technology to ensure all clothing is either reused or recycled into new products. In November, Birl will expand its fashion resale platform to include a sports shirt trade-in feature, launching partnerships with several football and Premiership rugby clubs. This initiative allows fans to trade in used football and rugby shirts for credit, supporting sustainable practices while making it easy to purchase the latest gear.

Birl’s platform integrates a simple trade-in button on brand websites, allowing customers to exchange items for instant credit in just a few clicks—similar to using Klarna.

“We believe re-commerce will be as transformative as e-commerce was 20 years ago, and brands can activate this new revenue channel in days,” said Peter Lydon, Birl’s co-founder and chief product officer. “For instance, Peregrine Clothing launched Birl within a day, demonstrating our solution’s speed and simplicity.”

When a customer trades in an item, they receive instant credit for new purchases, and the garment is then integrated into Birl’s extensive reseller network, offering a seamless, no-touch solution for brands while promoting sustainability. This model allows both fashion and sports brands to engage in resale without the burden of additional logistics.

With this funding, Birl plans to expand into the Nordics by the end of the year.

Cam McGimpsey, CEO and co-founder, stated, “We see significant opportunities in regions where there is a strong interest in sustainability.”

Birl is on track to achieve £1 million in revenue by 2025, driven by brand partnerships and market expansion. To support this growth, the team, currently consisting of five members, plans to add more roles to meet rising demand.

Located in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle, McGimpsey expressed gratitude for the support from local tech accelerators Baltic Ventures and LYVA Labs, noting, “Liverpool has been the foundation of our growth.”