Carmoola raises £103.5m funding to help drive growth plans

UK motor finance fintech Carmoola is poised to drive "ambitious growth aspirations" after raising a £8.5 million Series A round and £95 million debt facility.

Led by US-based fintech company QED Investors, existing investors VentureFriend and InMotion Ventures - the investment arm of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) - also participated in the recent finding round. 

NatWest provided the fintech's new debt facility.

Carmoola, which launched 10 months ago, claims to provide buyers with a budget, generates a free vehicle history check and allows payment to be made both instantly online and at the showroom within just 60 seconds using a Carmoola virtual card.

Chief executive Aidan Rushby said: “This funding will not only drive our ambitious growth aspirations but enable us to continue putting the customer at the forefront of everything we do.”

The company said the funding will be immediately deployed to continue to scale the business and help support customer adoption.

Yusuf Özdalga, partner and head of Europe at QED Investors, said: “Having not adapted to modern expectations for the consumer, the car finance industry has been caught off guard by the new neo-car finance brand Carmoola, who champion the consumer at every part of the process.

“Carmoola is on track to dominate the car finance sector with a game-changing approach to purchasing.”

Carmoola is also set to launch green discounts in the coming months, which aim to incentivise consumers to utilise more sustainable choices. It said it also aims to expand the team to 20 people to meet demand.

More than a third (34%) of dealers are stocking more economical cars to meet the needs of buyers during the cost of living crisis.