Unyoked bags €18M to expand its sustainable nature-focused cabins in Europe

Sydney, Australia-based Unyoked, a company that launched in the UK in 2022 and provides wilderness cabins to promote sustainable and nature-focused vacations, announced on Thursday, February 23, that it has raised €18M to extend its wellness cabins across the UK and European markets.

The round was led by Munich-based SURPLUS Equity Partners, an investment and asset manager focusing on real assets, and Sydney-based Realside Financial Group, an investment firm specialising in unlisted commercial property and private property debt.

Capital to expand in Europe

Unyoked says it will use the money to support its expansion plans and offer more chances for busy city dwellers to visit its “uniquely secluded and immersive” nature cabins. 

The startup claims to be the market leader in New Zealand, Australia and the UK, and the funds will help expand its presence in Europe as well as add further locations in its current markets. Unyoked says it will prioritise expansion in the UK, Scandinavia, Germany, Benelux, Austria, and Switzerland.

Chris Grant, co-founder of Unyoked, says, “We believe in a world where people see and use nature like they do the gym. Spending time outdoors is an important balance to our lives in an increasingly noisy and hectic environment. Many of us still don’t understand just how powerful it can be.”

“The current round of funding is an important step in our journey to help change that and make it easier for people to access the many benefits of nature more often,” adds Grant.

What does Unyoked offer?

Founded in 2016 by Chris Grant and Cameron K L Grant, Unyoked encourages people to access nature regularly. It offers hand-selected, completely off-the-grid hideaways in beautiful areas of nature, always within two hours of big towns.

The cabins are about 3m x 9m in size, constructed of high-quality materials, and furnished with a tiny kitchen and “exquisite” bathroom. Each target market’s optimisation and adaptation to various climatic and meteorological circumstances are taken into account.

The company operates about 100 off-grid cabins in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. It has so far hosted about 35,000 overnight stays.

The hideouts leave a small environmental impact as they use only solar power, making them independent from the electrical grid (“off-grid”) and have their own rainwater reservoir, wood fire, and composting bathrooms.

The booking procedure is based on a back-end system created in-house. The cleaning procedures and quality assurance checks are digitally tracked.

In addition to working with American actor Matthew McConaughey, Unyoked has also published a Writer’s Anthology that attracted hundreds of submissions from the general public, collaborated with Apple to showcase artists inspired by the creative benefits of the wilderness, and released vinyl with the music label Future Classic.