Fin-tech startup ASF secures nearly £1m of investment

Automotive fin-tech startup ASF has secured an investment boost of almost £1m after rolling out at its 850th UK dealership.

ASF, which provides a payment option to help motorists spread the cost of vehicle servicing and repairs, has raised more than £950k from a number of private investors.

Set up by founder James Jackson in 2014, the business enjoyed 1,000 per cent year-on-year revenue growth in 2016 as the total amount of repairs, servicing and accessories funded through ASF exceeded £6m.

Jackson, co-CEO of ASF, commented: “It is clear there is great demand for more options when it comes to covering the cost of maintaining our vehicles, which is all too often an expensive and stressful experience.

“ASF provides greater flexibility and transparency to enable motorists to stay on the road without the hassle of high, and often unplanned for, one-off bills.

“Dealerships have been offering finance packages on vehicle sales for many years, and they are beginning to recognise the importance of adopting interest-free payment methods within their service divisions.”

The funding will be used to enhance the machine learning capabilities used to process customer applications quickly yet responsibly.

This has followed an increase of more than 150 per cent in its customer base, with the number of UK dealerships offering ASF rising from 300 to 850 over the last 12 months.

The popularity of ASF’s solution has led to it being rolled out across franchised dealerships belonging to some of the world’s biggest vehicle brands such as Jaguar Land Rover, Peugeot Citroën, Ford and Vauxhall.

The payment method is funded exclusively by dealers, who pay a small transaction fee on any sales made through ASF, meaning the customer gets flexibility with no extra or hidden costs.

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