By Rotation, the peer-to-peer fashion rental marketplace, has been named a finalist for the ITV Growth Accelerator Award at the 2026 Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards.
Operating at the intersection of fashion technology and the sharing economy, the company says it scales a highly sustainable marketplace without owning a single garment.
Where legacy rental platforms rely on heavy inventory investment and rapid depreciation, By Rotation has instead built an entirely asset-light infrastructure. Founded in the UK by Eshita Kabra-Davies and often described as a social rental app, the platform lets members rent and lend clothing directly to one another, an approach recognised by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation as a working example of the circular economy in fashion.
A trust engine and an organic community
The company’s core differentiator, it says, is a proprietary trust engine paired with a deep, organic community of more than 700,000 users. By gamifying the social experience, the business reports fostering strong loyalty and user satisfaction across its network. Crucially, it says its growth is powered by genuine cultural relevance rather than expensive subsidies. Global tastemakers and celebrities, including Lady Amelia Windsor, Dame Helen Mirren and Candice Brathwaite, use the app natively to share their own wardrobes, which the company says gives it organic reach and lets it operate with negligible paid marketing spend.
Scale without wholesale risk
By Rotation points to several achievements over the last 18 months as evidence of its momentum. It says it has organically grown its dynamic wardrobe to more than 150,000 items, representing an estimated £80 million in shared asset value, all without carrying any wholesale risk. The business also reports landmark strategic partnerships with global lifestyle leaders including Uber and Airbnb, which it presents as proof of cultural relevance beyond pure fashion. It frames these tie-ups as validation that its highly engaged community and technology infrastructure can travel across sectors rather than remaining confined to clothing rental.
A model built for the long term
The company says it has optimised its platform for long-term commercial viability, decoupling top-line growth from operational burn to show that circular consumption can be a high-growth, self-sustaining enterprise. By Rotation argues that purpose-driven, peer-to-peer retail is not just the future of sustainable fashion but a blueprint for the next generation of culturally defining consumer brands.
That combination of an asset-light model, an engaged community and a clear sustainability purpose sits at the heart of the company’s case as a finalist in the ITV Growth Accelerator Award, a category that recognises high-growth UK businesses with national ambition. Winners of the Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards will be announced on 10 November 2026 at Grosvenor House in London.
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