LEEDS – JUNE 19, 2025: Build Concierge, the customer engagement platform, has raised $5.1m (£3.8m) in seed funding from a consortium of private investors. The deal values the year-old start-up at £35m.
The venture has built an AI-enabled customer engagement platform, helping businesses to automate customer communications across every channel, using email, text, WhatsApp, chat and voice. The software boosts productivity and helps businesses to scale rapidly and profitably.
Build Concierge is the fourth business from serial founder Martin Port. The Yorkshire-based entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist has been building B2B software for almost 30 years. Port’s previous venture, the workforce management software platform BigChange, was sold to Simpro Group last year in a deal that valued BigChange at more than £300m.
Build Concierge has raised £3.8m in growth finance from angel investors, high net worths, and Martin Port himself. Alongside the investment, Build Concierge has announced the appointment of several industry heavyweights to its board. These individuals bring extensive industry experience from Build Concierge’s target sectors.
Lord Ian Austin, former Labour minister, now the UK government’s trade envoy to Israel, joins Build Concierge as a board observer, bringing decades’ worth of experience in frontline government policy. He is a passionate advocate for tech disruption and automation within the construction sector.
Robin Proctor brings FTSE 100 experience to our new board. A former Development Director of construction giant Travis Perkins Group, he held executive roles in Travis Perkins, Wickes and Howdens, so really understands our target customers. A proven market innovator having been a board member at market disruptor Toolsation.co.uk during its key growth phase and chairman of Bathrooms.com, he specialises in improving business efficiency, lean supply chains, automation and robotics.
Charlie Kirk, founder and former managing director of drainage firm Jet Aire, built his business over more than two decades to become the leading supplier of drainage services in the North of England, employing more than 170 people. As a board member, he will help shape the development of AI tools that allow companies in this industry to scale efficiently.
“We are delighted to welcome these luminaries to our board,” says Build Concierge founder Martin Port.
Martin further commented:
“We have spent the past year refining our business model, technology and approach. It is a testament to the power and potential of our technology that we have attracted such high-calibre people to the board, and that our first fundraising round was oversubscribed, closing in record time.”
Lord Austin comments:
“Martin’s track record speaks for itself. He has already created two of the most exciting technology software companies in Europe and Build Concierge has the potential to make an even bigger impact. There isn’t a single service business that couldn’t benefit from this AI-powered platform, and no limit to its potential.”
Charlie Kirk comments:
“This is a really exciting opportunity and I’m very much looking forward to working with Martin and the team. Build Concierge’s AI-driven software will be a game changer for many businesses and will help to drive efficiency and growth.”
About Martin Port
Martin Port is a technology pioneer based in Leeds, Yorkshire. He is a serial entrepreneur, with three successful exits under his belt. Martin founded his last venture, software-as-a-service company BigChange, in 2011. In 2020, BigChange was recognised for its outstanding innovation in the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, the UK’s highest official awards for British businesses. In 2024, the business was sold to Simpro in a deal that valued BigChange at over £300m.
About Build Concierge
Build Concierge is an AI-powered omnichannel customer engagement platform that converts, automates and scales, 24/7. Businesses face rising enquiry volumes, fragmented systems, and manual tasks that drain resources and slow growth. Using proprietary AI tools, Build Concierge manages calls, chats, WhatsApp, SMS, emails, and bookings in real time. It understands intent, responds instantly, and follows up automatically. Seamlessly integrating with existing tools, from CRMs to job management and scheduling software, Build Concierge helps businesses automate without disrupting how their teams already work. No missed steps. No wasted time. Just intelligent automation.
