Mark Lavery launches Cambria investment company to boost automotive sector

Cambria Investment Holdings has recruited Mike Allen from Zeus to head its new investment company, Cambria Private Capital.

The company is launching with an initial fund of £10m and will make investments of up to £1m in startups and scaleups. It is seeking post-seed stage businesses with proven revenue models addressing industry problems.

Allen is an industry investor, analyst, and commentator with experience in supporting growth in the sector. He will maintain his board advisor roles with some of the UK’s automotive start-ups and market leaders in their respective fields.

Allen said: “We believe Cambria Private Capital is a new corporate venture capital model in the UK that represents the automotive retail sector. Funding comes with a compelling investment committee offering over 150 years of industry experience.

“We are passionate about supporting entrepreneurs using our extensive network, supporting the right industry change, embracing authentic ESG for responsible investing, and delivering exceptional financial returns to impact UK SME survival and the wider UK economy positively.”

Cambria Private Capital will prioritise founders aligned with its ESG values, and IP-rich business models, that have the ability to solve problems in the industry. The investment manager will work in partnership with the founders to develop a comprehensive business plan with hands-on support at all stages of the investment.  

The investment committee includes Mark Lavery (pictured right), founder of Cambria Automobiles; Mike Allen, investment manager; Paul Buddin, group chief financial officer at Cambria; Rodney Smith, experienced board member and a former finance director; William Charnley, partner at King and Spalding and non-executive director (NED) at Cambria, and Michael Burt, managing partner at Promethean and a NED at Cambria.

Mark Lavery, chairman and CEO of Cambria Automobiles, said: “We aim to drive growth across the automotive sector with funding and exceptional support from our highly experienced team. To achieve this goal, we are looking for driven founders who are aligned with the Cambria Group values and where the business can add value to other parts of the group.

"We believe we are uniquely placed to identify the niche problems in the industry that need solving.”