The Pro Climbing League has raised £3.2M in seed funding led by Redrice Ventures, after selling 4,000 tickets on the first day of sales for its 2027 season.

Active Partners also invested, along with London sports fund Accelerate Ventures and the International Bouldering Alliance, a European climbing gym group. The round was announced on 13 November.

The Pro Climbing League (PCL) runs head-to-head bouldering. Two climbers race side by side on identical problems, and whoever tops out first goes through to the next round.

Who is behind the Pro Climbing League?

PCL was co-founded by chief executive Danaan Markey and climbing commentator Charlie Boscoe. Markey has coached the German national climbing team and worked in sports marketing at Patagonia.

The founding team also includes Neil Wyatt, formerly head of live events at BBC Radio, and startup operator Eelco Bulten.

The league says it is independent. No gym chain, kit brand or agency owns it, and it earns from tickets and sponsorship.

How did the first event go?

The debut at Magazine London in Greenwich on 28 February 2026 sold out its 2,500 seats in under a day. More than 2,400 fans watched the women's final, and Red Bull TV streamed the event live to a global audience.

Britain's Max Milne won the men's title and France's Oriane Bertone took the women's. Olympic champions Janja Garnbret and Toby Roberts were in the field.

PCL says 43% of first-event ticket buyers were women and that fans travelled from 27 countries.

What will the £3.2M pay for?

The money funds the 2027 and 2028 seasons. Season two runs in Berlin, Paris and London on 23 January, 13 February and 20 March 2027.

For 2028, PCL plans five events, including one in the US. Markey told Tech Funding News that demand pushed the expansion forward by a year.

Prize money per event rises to £50,000 in 2027. Top prizes at major international climbing competitions currently sit around £6,000, and each London winner took home £10,000 this year.

The league also plans a content channel on athletes' lives and their links to climbing gyms. PCL has not disclosed its valuation or revenue.

Why did Redrice back a climbing league?

Redrice is a London consumer fund whose portfolio includes Castore, Puresport and Manors Golf. Alistair Brownlee, the double Olympic triathlon champion who works with the fund, said indoor climbing has moved from subculture to a global sport that people now want to compete in and watch.

What this means for UK founders

Sports properties rarely get venture money at seed. PCL shows the pattern that can work: a sport with a large paying participant base, a format built for broadcast, and sell-out proof before the raise.

It adds to a small but growing list of UK sports startup funding rounds, and to the capital flowing into London-based startups.

Founders weighing a first raise can see how investors judge early traction in Bizztor's UK startup statistics for 2026.

The next test is Berlin in January. If continental crowds match London, the US date in 2028 starts to look less like a stretch.