Wearable tech start-up UNA Watch has secured more than £300,000 investment from the backer of some of the UK’s most exciting consumer brands as it prepares to take on industry giants Apple and Garmin with the world’s first repairable modular GPS sports watch.
The investment, from London-based SFC Capital, is a rare win for consumer hardware – a notoriously tough sector for early-stage funding – and will fuel the development of UNA Watch’s patent-pending technology ahead of its Kickstarter launch in March.
Edinburgh-based UNA Watch, which also won the £100,000 top prize from Scottish EDGE last year, is pioneering a new category of sustainable smartwatches, allowing users to repair, replace, and upgrade components instead of discarding entire devices. The innovation aligns with the growing Right to Repair movement and addresses the mounting e-waste crisis, with 62 million tonnes of consumer electronics discarded annually.
The idea for UNA Watch was born from frustration. After spending nearly a decade designing smartwatches for the golf market, Allison had seen first-hand how wearables across the industry were largely engineered for disposability. The turning point came when his wife scratched her Apple Watch just two days after buying it. The official repair cost was so high that replacing the watch seemed like the only viable option – a dilemma faced by millions of consumers. Working with co-founder Colin Crosland, a mechanical engineer with more than 30 years of design consultancy experience, 15 at the helm of his own company, Allison decided to create a solution to the problem.
Inspired by similar product models including Fairphone and Framework laptops, UNA Watch enables users to swap out individual components, such as batteries, screens, and sensors, rather than replacing the entire device. Future modular upgrades could include advanced health tracking features, cellular connectivity, and display enhancements.
With a four-person team, UNA Watch is set to launch its first GPS-enabled modular smartwatch via Kickstarter. Already more than 7,000 people have registered interest, with almost 1,000 already putting down deposits.
The crowdfunding campaign aims to sell 5,000 units in the UK and the US markets – equating to £1m in revenue – as well as building a passionate community of early adopters. The company has already attracted interest from major retailers but is prioritising direct-to-consumer sales through its website.
Beyond the consumer market, UNA Watch sees significant potential in B2B applications. Industry customers have expressed interest in customisable smartwatches for specialised uses, such as safety monitoring and fatigue tracking. Looking ahead, the company is also working on an ‘UNA for Developers’ programme, enabling third-party developers to create custom modules for the platform.
UNA Watch is open to further investment but remains strategic in its approach. The company has appointed two non-executive directors (NEDs) to its board to help guide that strategy: business operations and marketing expert Robin Knox, founder of Intelligent Point of Sale that was acquired by iZettle, now part of the PayPal group; and investment banker Andrew Coull, an experienced investor in sports technology and adviser to early-stage companies and VC funds.
A key focus is the US market, where UNA Watch is investing heavily in digital marketing, influencer partnerships, and celebrity endorsements. The company has also been in talks with world-class athletes about potential endorsement deals – a clear sign of the founders' ambitions.
