Member Article

DWF advises Car Loan 4U on £8 million investment from Scottish Equity Partners

Business law firm DWF has advised Car Loan 4U, the UK’s leading online car finance specialist, on its £8 million investment from leading UK venture capital firm, Scottish Equity Partners (SEP).

The investment will enable Car Loan 4U to accelerate its growth and build on its position as the UK market leader.

Launched in 2006, Car Loan 4U provides a market-leading online service for consumers looking for car finance, and has experienced its most successful period of growth over the last 12 months.

Turnover has grown by more than 75 per cent to £11 million and headcount has increased to 150 employees. The company hopes to more than quadruple its annual revenues over the next four years.

The deal will facilitate the growth of the Car Loan 4U brand and implement and expand the capabilities of Car Loan 4U’s advanced technology, creating a superior customer journey.

Car Loan 4U CEO James Wilkinson commented: “The investment from SEP represents a landmark for Car Loan 4U and will be invaluable in helping us continue our ambition of revolutionising the market, by transforming the way consumers take out car finance online.

“It comes at an exciting time in the company’s history, and the extensive digital technology experience of SEP makes them the perfect partner for us to develop our strong growth. We have expansion plans across the board and in a short space of time, have evolved from a small business exploiting a gap in the market to emerge as a clear leader in our sector.”

Frank Shephard, head of corporate in the North West, led the deal at DWF.

He said: “This investment will allow Car Loan 4U to accelerate innovations in its technology, set a new industry standard for the way consumers shop online for car finance and expand its brand, all of which will enable the company to deliver an improved customer experience. The deal continues the team’s focus on technology based businesses with the opportunity for significant growth.”

Mr Shephard was supported on the deal by director Lisa Stavropoulos and senior solicitor Helen Mather, both in the corporate team at DWF.

Andrew Davison, a partner at SEP, will also join the company’s board.

He added: “Car Loan 4U has been self-funded to date and we have been impressed by the fact that it has consistently grown revenues to become the UK’s leading provider of online used car finance. There is a great opportunity, with seven million used cars being sold in the UK last year involving £8 billion of dealer arranged finance across an estimated 845,000 deals.

“Our investment will enable the company to increase its brand awareness, allowing it to capitalise on the trend towards greater online loan provision.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .