UK-based digital pension provider Penfold has secured £3.9 million in fresh funding to scale its reach among SMEs and accountancy firms and accelerate product development. The round was led by Gresham House Ventures, a growth equity investor known for backing software and digitally driven businesses across enterprise, healthcare, and consumer sectors.
The latest round follows Penfold’s £7 million Series A in 2022 and an oversubscribed crowdfunding campaign in early 2025 that raised just over £1 million from individual backers.
The funding from Gresham House Ventures, held in the Baronsmead and Mobeus VCTs, will power Penfold’s next growth phase. This includes a broader push across the UK SME market and the continued buildout of its platform with new features for savers and employers.
Penfold claims that the new capital will also support its path to profitability, with plans to deepen its presence in the accountancy ecosystem and double down on product-led innovation.
Rapid growth, rising demand
Founded in 2018 by Chris Eastwood and Pete Hykin, Penfold is on a mission to modernise the £9.4 trillion UK pensions industry by building a simple, accessible, and engaging digital platform for workplace pensions. In contrast to legacy pension providers, Its offering allows companies to set up or switch their pension plan within minutes, implement salary sacrifice schemes, and offer a benefit that’s easy to manage, all through a proprietary platform.
Penfold’s recent momentum highlights both the need and appetite for streamlined pension solutions among UK businesses. Since the start of 2024, the number of employers using Penfold’s workplace pension has tripled, surging from 1,200 to over 4,000 by Q1 2025. Over the same period, the company’s assets under administration rose by 91%, reaching nearly £700 million.
This growth has been largely driven by two core strategies:
- It’s a free salary sacrifice implementation service, which helps small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) reduce National Insurance contributions
- The rapid expansion of its accountancy firm partner network, which has become a key distribution channel
Together, these initiatives have positioned Penfold as a cost-saving and user-friendly option for businesses looking to modernise their pension offering.
A strong track record and future ambition
By combining a digital-first interface with dedicated employer support and integrated tax savings, Penfold is reshaping how companies view pensions not just as a legal requirement, but as a valuable employee benefit.
With the fresh backing from Gresham House Ventures, Penfold is poised to cement its role as the go-to pension provider for modern businesses, particularly those eager to ditch paperwork-heavy, legacy platforms in favour of intuitive, digital-first solutions.
As the digital pension race intensifies, Penfold’s growth trajectory signals a broader shift in the UK’s financial infrastructure, one where innovation, user experience, and agility are no longer optional but essential.
Chris Eastwood, Co-founder of Penfold, said: “This investment from Gresham House Ventures is a vote of confidence in our goal of bringing better pension solutions to businesses and savers and will enable us to further enhance our digital offering. Gresham House Ventures has a fantastic track record of supporting fast-growing businesses like ours so we are confident this investment will enable us to accelerate our recent momentum.”
Rohit Mathur, investment partner at Gresham House Ventures, said: “We have been impressed with Penfold’s commercial traction as it leads the charge in disrupting the pensions industry. With significant potential to further boost its customer base and bolster its digital offering over the coming years, we are excited to support Penfold’s continued progress as it enters the next phase of its growth.”
