Saible raises £2.9 million for construction payment software

Saible has raised £2.9 million from angel investors to build software intended to get construction project funds to suppliers without the usual chain of hold-ups. The UK fintech said the total includes £2.1 million previously secured and a new £800,000 angel round, with valuation, revenue and headcount not disclosed.

The problem Saible is addressing is familiar to anyone selling into construction: money can pass through four or five layers between a client and a small supplier. Each layer creates another chance for cash to be delayed, retained or used as working capital by the firm holding it.

The risk is not theoretical. ISG’s collapse in 2024 left more than £1.1 billion in unpaid debts and hundreds of subcontractors unpaid for work they had completed. UK accountancy and advisory firm Menzies has reported that construction recorded more insolvencies than any other UK sector for the fourth consecutive year, with 4,450 failures in 2025, up 9%, and another 1,180 in the first quarter of 2026.

Saible’s product, called Digital Parallel Payment Account, or DiPPA, is designed to sit around project payments. The company provides software for approvals, verification and audit, while project funds are held in a trust with regulated banking partner Griffin. Once firms are approved, Saible says funds can be paid to suppliers across multiple tiers at the same time, rather than moving sequentially from contractor to subcontractor.

Under the company’s stated pricing model, the project owner pays Saible 0.25% of the payment value. Saible says suppliers pay nothing. That pricing puts the cost on the client or funder seeking payment visibility, rather than on the smaller firms usually most exposed to late payment.

Public-sector pilots are next

Saible said it is working with the Environment Agency and BAM Nuttall on public-sector pilots to test the model on live, government-backed construction projects. The first pilot is expected to be a £1.5 million to £2 million footbridge replacement, scheduled to begin in summer 2026 and run for 12 to 16 months.

The pilot follows work by a Cabinet Office-sponsored group looking at construction payment problems. Saible said the work is meant to produce early evidence on payment visibility, supplier payment timing and how far down the supply chain the model can reach, with the aim of informing wider public-sector payment reform.

The regulatory context is shifting in Saible’s favor. New and proposed late-payment legislation, stricter public procurement rules and the Construction Playbook are putting more pressure on public clients to show that suppliers are paid fairly and on time. Project Bank Accounts already try to ring-fence funds, but Saible argues they often protect only the upper tiers of a project and can be difficult to set up and operate.

Jarvey Moss, Saible’s co-founder and chief executive, said the funding will be used to expand the platform, support regulatory work and bring the system into more live projects with funders that want more control over payments through the supply chain.

Phil Brown, founder and executive chair of Causeway Technologies and a Saible investor, said Saible’s approach differs from Project Bank Accounts because it is intended to help clients and contractors see that money reaches the firms doing the work, including those below the main contractor.

Alongside the angel financing, Saible is opening a limited £50,000 allocation on Crowdcube from 15 July to 31 July. The company said the allocation is meant to let smaller construction businesses and industry participants invest alongside its angel backers.

This story draws on original reporting from Tech.eu.