Penfold offers a digital workplace pension via a proprietary platform, which enables businesses to sign up or switch their pension in minutes – a significant improvement over legacy providers. The business has seen significant growth in recent years, with the number of employers using Penfold’s workplace pension tripling since the start of 2024 – from 1,200 to over 4,000 – and assets under administration rising by 91% to nearly £700 million by the end of Q1 2025.

This growth has been fueled by Penfold’s free salary sacrifice implementation service, helping SMEs save money on National Insurance contributions, and the rapid expansion of its accountancy firm partner network.

The funding from Gresham House Ventures will be used to further grow Penfold’s presence across the UK SME and accountancy markets and accelerate the development of its pension app with new features for savers and businesses. The investment in Penfold will be held in the Baronsmead and Mobeus VCTs which are managed/advised by Gresham House.

The deal continues a busy period for Gresham House Ventures, with the business currently fundraising for its Baronsmead VCTs. It has also been active in terms of dealflow, having recently led investments in accessibility audit and data platform Mobility Mojo and adventure travel scale-up Much Better Adventures.

Rohit Mathur, Investment Partner at Gresham House Ventures, said: “We have been impressed with Penfold’s commercial traction as it leads the charge in disrupting the pensions industry. With significant potential to further boost its customer base and bolster its digital offering over the coming years, we are excited to support Penfold’s continued progress as it enters the next phase of its growth.”

Chris Eastwood, Co-Founder of Penfold, said: “This investment from Gresham House Ventures is a vote of confidence in our goal of bringing better pension solutions to businesses and savers and will enable us to further enhance our digital offering. Gresham House Ventures has a fantastic track record of supporting fast-growing businesses like ours so we are confident this investment will enable us to accelerate our recent momentum.”