IKEA-backed NORNORM bags €110M to bring the circular economy to workspaces

Copenhagen-based NORNORM, a subscription-based furnishing service, announced on Wednesday that it has secured €110M in a fresh funding round led by Verdane. Inter IKEA Group and Philian AB also participated in the round.

The Danish company says it will use the funds to accelerate global expansion, including in the US market, in 2023. 

Currently, the company is operational in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Austria, and recently in the UK. 

“To grow and adapt to the future, all companies must 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,” says Jonas Kjellberg, co-founder and Chairman of the Board at NORNORM. 

NORNORM: What you need to know

Co-founded with Inter IKEA Development in 2020, NORNORM helps businesses with workplace furniture solutions based on a subscription model. 

The company aims to reduce environmental impact by keeping every piece of furniture in a loop from one workspace to the next. NORNORM also says every product is carefully maintained and refurbished to extend its lifespan.

NORNORM claims to have sold 200,000 square metres of office furniture subscriptions in under two years.

“The same way Tesla’s electrification of cars has influenced the motor industry, we want to be the catalyst of change to circularity in the workspace industry,” says Anders Jepsen, CEO at NORNORM.

NORNORM’s international customer base includes Volvo, Castellum, IWG, Wolt, Miro, Edge, and Netflix, amongst others. 

NORNORM says it has taken major steps in setting a new, circular norm for office furniture with over 500 office installations, meaning that more than 22,000 people have joined the circular movement.

Investor

Verdane is a specialist growth equity investment firm that partners with tech-enabled and sustainable European businesses. The European growth investor, holds over €4.5B in total commitments and has made more than 140 investments since 2003. 

The latest investment was made from Verdane’s Idun I fund, which is classified as “Article 9” under the European Union’s Finance Disclosure Regulation. 

Idun I makes investments focused on driving impact in three clusters: 

• Energy transition 
• Sustainable consumption 
• Resilient communities

“NORNORM is well loved by the world’s most innovative businesses, who know that reducing their 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 Furniture-as-a-Service model globally. We’re excited to see such a strong response from customers – NORNORM is creating a ‘new normal’ that resonates with forward-thinking business leaders,” says Erik Osmundsen, Partner at Verdane.