UK's first car comparison site Motorway secures £2.75m funding round

Motorway, the UK’s first price comparison website for selling your car, has secured £2.75m in seed funding.

The UK’s used car market is estimated to be worth over £50bn annually, with more than eight million used cars sold in 2017 alone.

Motorway makes selling a car faster by bringing the options online: consumers enter their car’s registration number and mileage to instantly see multiple offers from car buying services, specialist dealerships and even vehicle recycling firms.

They can then compare headline offers, read buyer reviews, collection criteria, fees and payment methods before choosing their best deal.

Launched in July 2017, the company currently has over 25,000 monthly customer sales enquiries.

Motorway’s new funding will enable further development of its software platform, expansion of its network of car buyers and wider promotion of the service throughout the UK.

The seed funding was co-led by early-stage VC firm LocalGlobe and Marchmont Ventures, the venture fund of Hugo Burge (entrepreneur and former CEO of Momondo Group). Alex Chesterman (Zoopla founder and CEO), Duncan Jennings (founder of VoucherCodes.co.uk), and early Spotify investor Shakil Khan also participated in the round.

Motorway was founded by Tom Leathes, Harry Jones and Alex Buttle. They have three startups behind them already, including the UK’s biggest broadband price comparison site, which was acquired by uSwitch.

Tom Leathes, CEO and co-founder of Motorway, said: “Selling a car can be stressful and time-consuming, and it often leaves consumers feeling confused and out of pocket. There’s a real perception that you need to be a car expert to get a good deal, and that needs to change.

“Motorway makes it easy for everyone to compare the market and find the best deal for their car – and for dealers to connect with motivated sellers instantly. With this funding round we’re thrilled to be working with a group of investors with deep experience in price comparison - and who share our focus on championing consumers.”

Suzanne Ashman, partner at LocalGlobe, added: “We are very excited to be working with Motorway. Founders Tom, Harry and Alex have a strong track record of building products that help consumers get the best deals.

“Creating a compelling experience for people selling their cars is hard. The potential buyers are fragmented with many different online and offline options. Information about the sale process is difficult to find, and pricing is often unclear. “Motorway’s technology is exceptional and will bring much-needed transparency for car owners.”

Hugo Burge, director of Marchmont Ventures, also commented: “We are delighted to be backing a proven team we have gotten to know over many years and are confident that they’ll execute at breakneck speed.

“Motorway has an exciting opportunity to significantly improve the often opaque, misleading and confusing marketplace for used cars. We believe in their ability to make a genuine difference for consumers, while helping the industry to be more efficient, digitally enabled and better trusted.”