Investors drive success of used vehicle company Cazana with £1.75m

Used vehicle database, Cazana.com has received investment totaling £1.75m to continue its rapid growth trajectory, with some major industry names backing the business.

Robert Diamond, former managing director of the RAC, has become a key adviser to Cazana - together with Andy Homer - the former CEO of Aviva and AXA.

Further investment has been secured from Origin Capital and Passion Capital, which was set up by the same investor who is behind the innovative mobile-only bank Monzo. Cazana is advised by American venture capitalist Eileen Burbidge MBE.

Tom Wood, CEO of Cazana, commented: “The investment we have secured demonstrates the value that Cazana’s database provides both to the motor trade, and to consumers looking to purchase a used car.

“Since our launch in 2013, we have grown at a rapid rate, and this investment will enable us to help more businesses understand vehicles better and continue to improve our platform for consumers.”

This significant support comes following a successful trade visit to the US, during which Cazana’s vehicle data, machine learning and AI were demonstrated to the motor trade.

Its global vehicle database has been proven to help companies reduce the financial risk of working with vehicles and the business is receiving a high number of enquiries from businesses looking to reduce the risk of working with used vehicles.

The business is continuing to expand into the US following this investment, and has its sights set on key European countries too.

The announcement marks a major step forward for Cazana, which was founded in 2013 by automotive fan Tom Wood, after he wanted to gain a better understanding of classic car prices using big data.

Since then the business has grown exponentially, and is currently the largest car search and indexing engine for used cars on sale in the UK, with more than 600,000 cars listed for sale on the website, and records of all 37m vehicles on the road.

The investment follows the announcement of respected industry figure Rupert Pontin taking the role of Head of Valuations at Cazana.