Hull app developer 'February' raises £250k in VC backing

Hull-based February has raised £250,000 in venture capital (VC) funding just a year into trading, having already proven itself as the leading no-code app developer in the UK.

February, which allows businesses to build their own apps to a template design without using code, will use the seed funding from SFC Capital to invest in research and development and operational and customer growth, says Ash Lewis, CEO, who launched the business last year with brother Tom, COO.

“We started February after identifying a distinct gap in the UK market for a no-code app developer and that the route to that market was quickly achievable with the skills and team we had and were able to pull together,” says software developer Ash, 26, who first hatched the idea of Feb.co.uk with Tom, 21, after working on labour- and cash-intensive app launches in the UK and Europe.

“Since 2020 when we started development on our software that can quickly generate native apps in multiple languages from a visual interface we’ve had a goal that can be summarised in one sentence ’anyone can build a modern, powerful app, without any coding or design knowledge.”

This no-nonsense, straightforward approach also allowed the young team to focus on the nature of an app’s ‘backendedness’ - and aim to make Feb.co.uk an app developer providing not just no-code software but also inbuilt app design options.

“We have had a lot of interest from venture capital backers, partly because there is a lot of interest in no-code software development. It helped that we were already generating income in such a short space of time and had a proven track-record in the tech sector, including in previously raising venture capital funding,” added Ash.

The brothers, who both grew up and went to school in Hull before going into tech, previously worked on another of their successful tech businesses for about six years, which they realised as a trade asset sale two years ago.

They are looking forward to the latest stage of their tech adventure, with more research and development, team building, product honing…and some of their own app launches. With no real UK competitor they will initially use the funding for a short R&D period and utilising their existing cash generation, and little or no forecast growth.

“We’ll be building and strengthening a remote team, one that is as lean as can be, with outsourced contractors including a software engineer and a customer success manager,” added Ash.