Karshare announces £3m investment to fund expansion

The Karshare community car-sharing app has announced a £3 million funding boost that will help support its expansion in UK cities.

Since launching earlier this year, the company operates an on-demand peer-to-peer car sharing platform in Bristol, Manchester, Coventry and London.

In addition to existing strategic investors including Fullbrook Thorpe and Adjuvo Syndicate, a significant investment was made by Saracens Football Rugby Club owner Nigel Wray, said Karshare.

In January, Karshare announced it achieved its £1m funding target through its equity crowdfunding campaign.

The business' latest investment will be used to support expansion in existing cities and in Birmingham, Leeds, Edinburgh and other rural communities such as Strathaven and Talybont.

The announcement follows as Karshare reports a 45% increase in revenue growth month-on-month (MoM) and a 70% growth in members MoM.

Andy Hibbert, founder at Karshare, said: “The opportunity to share cars is vast. There are 33 million privately owned cars and 1.5 million registered vans in the UK. On average, these vehicles sit idle 96% of the time.

"For the many hours they are sat outside people’s homes on streets and driveways, they could be hired out to vetted drivers in the local area, put to good use and generate income for the owners.

"Our vision for the future is one where there are far less vehicles on our roads, and the vehicles we do have are being shared to give multiple users access for the trips they need. Essentially moving away from ownership toward usership.

"The sustainability benefits are huge. For each car shared, up to 24 can be taken off the road. Car sharing will play a key role in the move to net zero which will require 50% less cars to be on UK roads and as we transition more to EVs these benefits will continue to grow.”

Karshare said it also plans to grow its existing team to include more community managers, marketing expertise, fleet technicians and to grow its engineering team.