Women’s urinals to be at more UK events after £1m funding boost
A British startup has raised nearly £1 million in investment, paving the way for women’s urinals to spread across Europe, the US and Australia.
Bristol-based Peequal’s funding comes in response to growing demand from event organizers around the world.
The capital injection will facilitate the production of the company’s next generation of urinals, which are designed to be flat-packaged for efficient global export.
The new units feature many patent-pending advances and a stackable form factor, allowing for nearly three times more transportation in trucks than traditional portable toilets.
This not only reduces road congestion, but also significantly reduces the carbon footprint of events.
Peequal’s queue-busting urinals are reportedly 2.7 times faster to use than traditional portable facilities. They have already been deployed at 25 events this year, including major meets such as Glastonbury and the London Marathon.
Co-founders Amber Probyn, 27, and Hazel McShane, 29, estimate their urinal has been used 1.25 million times since its first event in 2022.
Users have described them as “amazing,” “innovative,” and “game-changing.”
Ms McShane said: “We have heard from events and toilet suppliers around the world that they want to use our women’s urinals.
“Like us, they want women to spend less time queuing and more time enjoying the activities they love.
“This funding means we can export this British innovation and give the gift of shorter queues to women all over the world.”
The new design allows urinals to be flat packed and stacked.
The founders estimate that 56 urinals can fit in each truck, compared to about 21 urinals for traditional portable toilets.
Feedback from women led to other engineering improvements, such as flippable occupation signs and improved recoil.
Since they are ready for the 2026 season, they will also be easier to unload and move around event venues.
Ms Probyn said Peequal would work with overseas events, festivals and toilet providers to reduce queuing times.
She added: “We knew women would welcome any innovation that would mean they wouldn’t have to wait in queues for hours.
“We did not expect urinals to attract so much attention and we were very surprised by the support women gave us at the events.
“We are truly proud to be a female-led startup and honored that so many amazing female investors have chosen to support us.”
This time Peequal founders have raised £925,000 to take the total raised across three funding rounds to £1.4 million.
This third and latest round was mostly funded by businesswomen who are passionate about equality and follow their success stories.
Julie Davies, impact investor at We Have The Power, said: “It’s always rewarding to invest in a service you use and love.
“I first encountered Peequal while running the London Marathon and it was great to skip the queues during the nervous wait to start the run.
“But what I really like is the potential to make a huge sustainability impact by reducing toxic waste generation at events.”
Another investor, music agent Emma Banks, said: “I saw a short TV clip of Hazel and Amber talking about Peequal and I was blown away by it.
“I am delighted to be supporting these two inspiring women to tackle an inequality that has been evident for a long time and now has a truly great solution.”
