NORNORM helps businesses significantly reduce their environmental impact by moving from single-use office furniture to NORNORM’S circular, subscription-based furnishing service.
Today almost all office furniture ends up in a landfill. NORNORM uses a Furniture-as-a-Service model to extend the life cycle of its office furniture by 3x.
NORNORM has raised €110 million in a funding round led by Verdane, the European specialist growth equity firm.
Copenhagen, Denmark – European circular scale-up NORNORM today announced a €110 million funding round, led by growth equity investment firm Verdane, alongside Inter IKEA Group and Philian AB.
NORNORM is a subscription-based furnishing service that enables businesses to move from single-use office furniture to a circular model. As well as improving flexibility and cost efficiency for landlords and business owners, NORNORM helps its customers significantly reduce their environmental impact by moving to a circular model that extends the lifecycle of office furniture by 3x.
With the additional support from Verdane, the company will use the funding round as a launchpad for further global expansion. NORNORM is currently operating in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and Austria. The company has also recently entered the UK market, and plans to enter the US in 2023.
NORNORM was co-founded with Inter IKEA Development in 2020. In under two years, NORNORM has sold over 200,000 square metres of office furniture subscriptions. NORNORM’s international customer base includes Volvo, Electrolux, Castellum, IWG, Wolt, Miro, Edge, and Netflix amongst others. NORNORM has taken major steps in setting a new, circular norm for office furniture with over 500 office installations, which means that more than 22,000 people have already joined the circular movement and are now benefiting at work from NORNORM’s circular workspace solutions.
“To grow and adapt to the future, all companies need to 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,” said Jonas Kjellberg, co-founder and Chairman of the Board at NORNORM.
“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,” commented Anders Jepsen, CEO at NORNORM.
“NORNORM is well loved by the world’s most innovative businesses, who know that reducing their own 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 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 are creating a ‘new normal’ that clearly resonates with forward-thinking business leaders,” said Erik Osmundsen, Partner at Verdane.
Drawing upon Verdane’s international network as well as its deep expertise in high-growth and tech-enabled B2B businesses, NORNORM will be able to scale into new markets and increase its digital and sustainability capabilities, helping to contribute to tackling the furniture waste generated by existing, linear models.
The 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; and resilient communities. As well as their strong focus on sustainability, Verdane differentiates themselves as a value-add investor, with a team of over 30 in-house operational experts dedicated to working closely with portfolio companies to support their growth.
About NORNORM
NORNORM provides businesses with attractive workplace furniture solutions based on a subscription model. Requiring neither investment nor long-term commitment, it offers flexibility to scale up or down as the company grows or downsizes. The concept is built on circularity, where every piece of furniture is kept in a loop from one workspace to the next, and every product is carefully maintained and refurbished to extend its lifespan. This is good for business, people, and the planet. Backed by Inter IKEA, Verdane, Philian AB and Coen van Oostrom, NORNORM is on a mission to redefine the future of work by creating a fully circular business model for workspace furniture.
NORNORM is not just a concept, a company, or a service — it is a new and circular way of doing business. NORNORM is a multiple award-winning concept and has been generously rewarded within the PropTech industry in both the Nordics, Germany and the EU. NORNORM is operating in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Poland and the expansion continues.
For more information, visit www.nornorm.com
About Verdane
Verdane is a specialist growth equity investment firm that partners with tech-enabled and sustainable European businesses to help them reach the next stage of international growth. Verdane can invest as a minority or majority investor, either in single companies or through portfolios of companies, and looks to deploy behind two core themes: Digitalisation and Decarbonisation. Verdane funds hold over €4.5 billion in total commitments and have made more than 140 investments in fast-growing businesses since 2003. Verdane’s team of over 130 investment professionals and operating experts, based out of Berlin, Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, Oslo and Stockholm, is dedicated to being the preferred growth partner to tech-enabled and sustainable businesses in Europe.
For more information, visit www.verdane.com