Earthworm
Earthworm is a UK environmental fund manager, based in Abingdon, that backed early-stage food, energy and waste ventures, with water an occasional theme. Built around tax-efficient EIS funds, it backed water-tech like Advizzo and Hero Labs before entering administration in 2020, when SFC Capital took over its funds. (don't) Waste Water rates its water commitment Occasional, as of 2026.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
Earthworm was a rare thing in UK venture: an environmental fund manager that ran on the tax code. Founded in 2009 and run from Abingdon in Oxfordshire, it pooled money through Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) funds, the UK government's tax-relief vehicles for backing young companies, and pointed that capital only at businesses it judged good for people or the planet, across three pillars: food, energy and waste.
Earthworm never called itself a water fund, and the numbers agree. Across every raise I track in my Leviathan database, water shows up just three times, all around 2019: Advizzo's behavioural software that nudges households to use less, Hero Labs and its Sonic device that listens to pipes for hidden leaks, and LAT Water's low-energy way to treat briny wastewater. Water, for Earthworm, was one expression of resource efficiency, not a thesis of its own.
Earthworm's story then took a hard turn. In December 2020, after what its administrators called an extremely challenging Covid year, Earthworm Limited went into administration and SFC Capital Partners took over its funds, now run under the SFC Earth name. The water companies it once backed live on inside that portfolio.
Earthworm, to a founder building in water today, reads as a piece of history rather than a live cheque-book: an impact-first EIS manager that touched water through the lens of efficiency and leaks before its funds changed hands. Its legacy water bets are worth knowing if you are mapping who funded UK water-tech in the late 2010s; for fresh capital, the trail now leads to SFC Capital.
Water Commitment Score
Compiled from official filings, third-party records, and direct intelligence from investors and founders, in Leviathan · recomputed monthly · as of Jun 2026.
How they invest
Portfolio · 3 water companies
Frequently asked
- What does Earthworm invest in?
- Earthworm is a UK environmental fund manager that backed early-stage companies improving food, energy and waste, funding them through tax-efficient EIS schemes. Water was an occasional theme rather than a focus: in the Leviathan database, Earthworm backed three water companies, all around 2019, including Hero Labs and Advizzo.
- Who runs Earthworm?
- Earthworm was run from Abingdon, Oxfordshire by an investment team led by Managing Director Will Brocklebank, with Laurence Blair handling new-technology deals. After Earthworm Limited entered administration in December 2020, SFC Capital Partners took over management of its funds, which now sit under the SFC Earth name.
- Is Earthworm the same as Earthworm Foundation?
- No. Earthworm is a UK environmental fund manager based in Abingdon that made equity investments in start-ups. Earthworm Foundation is a separate non-profit, headquartered in Switzerland, that works on sustainable supply chains and deforestation. This page covers the fund, whose water bets include Advizzo, LAT Water and Hero Labs.
- Where is Earthworm based?
- Earthworm was based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in the United Kingdom, not to be confused with the similarly named Earthworm Foundation in Switzerland. From there it managed UK Enterprise Investment Scheme funds, channelling tax-advantaged capital into food, energy, waste and a handful of water-efficiency businesses.
- How many water companies has Earthworm backed?
- Earthworm has backed three water companies, all around 2019: Advizzo, whose software nudges households to save water; Hero Labs, maker of the Sonic ultrasonic leak detector; and LAT Water, a low-energy wastewater treatment developer. In the Leviathan database that is three companies across three deals, rated Occasional.