carwow gives fans, customers and partners exciting opportunity to invest
October 25, 2023 by carwow staff
Car changing is a big deal
- Raise will be via Crowdcube, the UK’s largest equity crowdfunding platform
- Pre-registration opens on 24 Oct, goes live on 7 Nov
- carwow’s 2019 campaign saw 7,967 investors raise £4.9m – the 14th largest raise on Crowdcube
24 October 2023: carwow, the online marketplace that is revolutionising how motorists research, buy and sell cars, is set to launch a new crowdfunding campaign to help supercharge its ambitious growth plans. It comes as the company also secures new investment from private funds.
carwow will be offering its community of loyal customers and partners an opportunity to own a stake in the high-growth business. The new funds raised will be used to help accelerate the company’s existing product development strategy to become the go-to destination for car changing.
Since 2011, the company has helped over 2.5 million people find, buy or sell a car. It’s become a go-to destination for new cars in the UK, Germany and Spain and one in every 10 of all new cars registered privately in the UK bought via carwow. The company added car selling capabilities to its UK offering in 2021, allowing drivers to sell their old cars directly back to its 3,000+ trusted dealer partners.
Through proprietary technology, carwow allows consumers to easily and simply compare hundreds of car makes and models on a single platform. This is supported by its independent editorial content which helps give consumers total car confidence in their decision making, before connecting them to car brands and car dealers.
carwow’s content empire includes one of the most popular automotive YouTube channels in the world with >1B YouTube views, 8.6 million subscribers and an additional 470M views across other social platforms.
The raise will be carried out through Crowdcube, the UK’s largest equity crowdfunding platform. Customers and partners will be able to invest from around £10.00.
carwow’s newly appointed CEO, John Veichmanis, said: “We want to crowdfund to help bring the full carwow experience to more motorists in our current markets. Car changing is more than just a transaction; it’s something that millions of people experience every year; one in every two people in our markets owns a car, and 20 million people change cars every single year! There’s a huge opportunity for us to become the go-to destination for car changing across all our markets.
“Right now, we know that for nearly one in two of us, buying or selling a car is an actively stressful process*. With a car market flooded with over 40 brands, 7,500 models and a multitude of fuel options and specifications, making a confident choice can feel very overwhelming. Changing your car should be exciting, full of inspiration and anticipation. We want to drive total car confidence by making it easy and hassle-free for drivers but also for the amazing dealers and car brands we work with.
* Carwow research found that nearly half (47%) of all motorists found selling a car stressful, while two in five (41%) feel the same about buying a car. Censuswide study commissioned by carwow survey of 3,035 UK car owners between the age of 17-75 between 20.07.2023 – 21.08.2023
“Our community is part of everything we do, so I’m thrilled to be able to offer another chance for ownership in carwow, so we can make buying and selling cars even better for everyone.”
Matt Cooper, Co-CEO of Crowdcube, said: “carwow’s previous raise ranked among our top 20 most popular campaigns of all time, so we’re absolutely delighted to welcome them back. We love working with growth-stage companies and are excited to provide their loyal and extensive community across Europe with the chance to support their journey.”
This is the second time carwow has partnered with Crowdcube; in 2019, carwow’s Crowdcube campaign saw investors raise the £2 million target in less than 60 minutes, with the final total hitting £4.9m from 7,967 investors, the 14th largest raise on the platform. To date, the business has raised $157 million from leading venture capital investors including Accel, Balderton, Episode 1 and Vitruvian and household automotive names including Volvo and Mercedes.
Legal disclaimer:
Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. This marketing communication has been approved as a Financial Promotion by Crowdcube Capital Ltd (FCA no. 650205) on 18/10/2023