Circular11 has gone from strength to strength in a short space of time, receiving an initial Start Up Loan in 2024, a further £250k growth loan one year later, and subsequently securing a multi-million-pound investment.
Reduce, reuse, recycle – three 21st century watchwords, and a mantra at the heart of a Dorset company which in the space of six years has grown to become a leading name in the waste plastic industry, with help from SWIG Finance along the way.
The business, which is based in Christchurch, takes mixed plastic waste that would ordinarily go to landfill or incineration and transforms it into plastic lumber to be used in furniture, decking and fencing. Customers include Wembley Stadium, which sends waste plastic from beneath the pitch to be transformed into benches for grassroots football clubs.
Circular11 takes mixed plastic waste that would ordinarily go to landfill or incineration and transforms it into plastic lumber to be used in furniture, decking and fencing.
The concept was born when founding directors Ben Gibbons and Connor Winter met while volunteering with charity Restless Development in Nepal, helping local town leaders in matters including waste management and collection. Plastic waste was routinely burned on open fires or thrown into waterways.
Back home in the UK, Ben and Connor spent 18 months working on a recycling system that could fit in the back of a van, creating an end product destined for interlocking plastic bricks.
However, there were snags. The small-scale operation was too expensive to be sustainable, and the bottom line was: “It didn’t work commercially – no one was really clamouring for plastic bricks. It was a learning experience.”
Undefeated, Ben and Connor turned their attention to the existing demand for plastic lumber. “There’s so much potential for plastic lumber to scale up. Timber is an enormous industry, and plastic lumber needs to reach the same scale.” Ben explains.
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In 2023, Circular11 raised £1.1m in private investment and grants to set up a recycling and manufacturing facility. The 2024 £22k Start Up Loan funding from SWIG Finance enabled the business to develop new products, which included fencing and motorway barriers.
The business continued to grow, and by 2025, they were outgrowing their current facility. Ben and Connor reapproached SWIG Finance for a further £250k growth loan. The additional funding supported the move to a bigger facility in Christchurch, going from a 3,000ft workshop into a 30,000ft factory.
The loan was used to purchase larger equipment, specifically a big extruder that takes in plastic flakes and pellets and uses heat to turn them into a toothpaste-like substance that can be moulded into pipes and planks.
Circular11’s new factory functions as a production hub and laboratory, in which the manufacturing process offers a test bed for different methods while also providing a product and an income.
“We needed to scale up production in order to attract the kind of private investment we’d like, and SWIG Finance enabled us to quadruple our capacity and fulfil orders from bigger customers,” said Ben.
Cicrular11’s headcount now numbers 19, with women making up 32% of the workforce in an industry where female representation remains comparatively low.
As anticipated, the £250k loan from SWIG Finance was shortly followed by a £2.4 million investment round led by European early-stage tech investor Vectr7 and The FSE Group, which invested £630,000 from the British Business Bank’s South West Investment Fund (SWIF). It also included The FSE Investor Network, Oxford Innovation Network and other private investors, alongside an InnovateUK grant award.
“It has been a huge few months for us,” said Ben. “The machines began running in July and we have been scaling up our commercial production ever since. From mid-October, we’ll move from a 16-hour day to 24-hour production, and we’ll be adding a third extruder in November.
“The ramp-up is significant – from 20 tonnes of lumber a month initially, to 120 tonnes now, to 220 tonnes very shortly.”
Circular11 has also hit a new quality grade. “The biggest thing I’m proud of is that we’ve increased the strength of our product to be 50% stiffer and stronger than our nearest market competitor, as proved by an external test house.”
“We have turned difficult-to-recycle materials into a higher quality of product than has been previously possible, which makes it more viable to recycle the raw materials,” said Ben.
SWIG Finance business manager John Murray said: “Scale up businesses often need fresh investment to seize bigger opportunities. SWIG Finance supports this next stage of growth.”
Such mammoth efforts require a larger team, which now numbers 19, with women making up 32% of the workforce in an industry where female representation remains comparatively low.
Working with SWIG Finance was “really smooth and supportive. There were plenty of checks to make sure we were in the right position to get that loan. They really helped us get our ducks in a row.”
SWIG Finance business manager John Murray said: “At a time when so much attention is focused on how to cut down or recycle our waste, it’s wonderful to find a company like Circular11 coming up with such an innovative and entrepreneurial solution.
“Scale up businesses often need fresh investment to seize bigger opportunities. SWIG Finance supports this next stage of growth, helping ambitious founders expand operations, strengthen capacity, and build on early success so they can move confidently towards sustainable, long-term growth.
“In the case of Circular11, SWIG Finance has helped the business through Start Up Loans and business loans, to reach a position where they can reach out to external investors. This is gratifying to see, and we look forward to continuing our successful relationship with them into the future.”
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About SWIG Finance
SWIG Finance is a people-based lender that provides loans and support to help smaller businesses in the South and West Country grow. We base our lending decisions on potential rather than collateral, which means that we can often support businesses when others can't.
We’re growing every year. In 2025/26, we lent £18.4m to 506 businesses, helping to create and secure over 1,134 jobs and generate £95.2m in social impact. Download the report here.
If you’d like an informal chat about your funding requirements, get in touch with our friendly and professional team to see how we can help: info@swigfinance.co.uk / 01872 227 930