Phlo have today announced the close of a £9 million funding round, accessing additional investment for their group of businesses amid a challenging investor market. The new capital will power significant scaling of the digital healthcare business, and its evolution from a digital pharmacy innovator into a holistic digital healthcare leader.
The raise comes at a difficult time in the market, where investment in digital health startups has declined year-on-year since 2021. However, Phlo’s innovative in-house technology stack and commitment to digital-first patient care and health outcomes has been a major driving force in investment confidence.
This latest round of financing comes 14 months after the completion of Phlo’s £10m Series A raise, and 12 months after Phlo’s acquisition of the assets of their former competitor, TruePill UK. It follows a year of robust business growth and scale across multiple verticals and the launch of several major new products across women’s health, weight management and on-demand prescribing services.
The round’s lead investor was Par Equity, who made a significant investment from their recently-announced £100 million venture capital fund: Par Equity Ventures I LP.
Par Equity was joined by Thairm Bio and Scottish Enterprise, who also invested in Phlo’s 2023 Series A.
Strategic growth plans to deliver digital health services nationwide
The Phlo ecosystem comprises industry-leading digital pharmacy products and healthcare e-commerce brands. This includes the NHS and private medication management service, Phlo Digital Pharmacy, the UK market-leading API-driven digital infrastructure platform for healthcare providers, Phlo Connect, and the newly-launched Phlo Clinic on-demand treatment service, alongside Hello Eve, a dedicated women’s healthcare brand, which both provide patients with on-demand, regulatory-approved treatments from qualified clinicians.
Over the next 12 months, Phlo plans to expand the geographic footprint of its UK operations to provide patients easier access to their growing range of digital healthcare services – from at-home prescription delivery to treatments and services delivered online. This includes their new weight management service and their ever-expanding women’s healthcare service.
There will also be a continued expansion of Phlo’s technology-based partnerships with both digital and traditional health providers, in tandem with work to improve and augment the technology stack services provided to existing partners. Strategic headcount growth at all levels across the company will deliver the capacity and additional expertise necessary for growth.
Nadeem Sarwar, founder and CEO of Phlo, comments:
“In the UK tech sector, the investment climate has been both unpredictable and incredibly challenging for the past two years. Despite this, Phlo’s investors have provided the leadership team with a huge vote of confidence in our business model and product ecosystem. This gives additional significance to the close of this fresh investment round, which will unlock huge business and growth opportunities across the entire Phlo network. I’d like to thank Par Equity, Thairm Bio and Scottish Enterprise for their support and belief in Phlo’s vision for the future of healthcare”
Paul Munn, Managing Partner at Par Equity, comments:
‘We’re delighted to support Phlo in revolutionising the digital healthcare landscape as it continues on its journey of growth. At Par Equity, we are committed to backing innovative technology companies with high-growth potential in the North of England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, so with the recent launch of our 100M fund, this investment aligns perfectly with our commitments.
We’re excited to see the developments in Phlo’s next growth phase as we support them to scale across and become an end-to-end digital healthcare provider in the UK.”
Mark Bamforth, Founder of Thairm Bio, comments:
“Phlo are at the forefront of trailblazing innovative digital healthcare solutions that put patients and clinicians at the heart of what they do. We’re delighted to add to the investment we made in 2023, after seeing their growth ambitions deliver impressive results and bring to market new services & offerings in the rapidly expanding UK healthcare sector. On behalf of Thairm Bio, I am proud to bolster our investment in Phlo, and personally, I am excited to see what this next growth chapter will deliver.”
Kerry Sharp, Director of Entrepreneurship and Investment at Scottish Enterprise, said:
“Phlo is a great example of how SE can support the growth of innovative Scottish companies alongside our private sector investment partners. We remain committed to supporting early-stage technology companies and Phlo fits well with SE’s missions, as a company in the healthcare sector with potential to scale, create jobs and bring strong economic benefits to Scotland.
“It’s great to see the progress Phlo is making in the digital healthcare market, with the launch of several major new products in the last 12 months, and we support its vision of becoming an end-to-end digital healthcare provider to more patients across the UK.”