Car & Classic, a UK-based classic car marketplace, has successfully secured its initial £1 funding target through the equity crowdfunding platform, Crowdcube. Founded in 2005 by Cazana, which is a provider of machine-learning vehicle valuation tools backed by Passion Capital and Origin Capital, Car & Classic claims to be Europe’s biggest classic car marketplace with over 2 million users monthly.
UK Vehicle, trading as Cazana, has 2 primary products:
- Car & Classic: a free-to-list site for classic & specialist vehicles, the go-to buy/sell platform in Europe. Car & Classic Holdings is a wholly-owned subsidiary
- Cazana: B2B platform using machine learning to determine the true value of vehicles
Car & Classic explained:
“Together we serve consumers to buy or sell cars, and dealers, insurers, and lenders who want to manage assets and insure with transparent information. Our research suggests the market for classified listings of classic/specialist vehicles is approximately £2.7 billion globally (UK: £239 million). Furthermore, the annual spending on vehicle pricing data is estimated £3.5 billion globally (UK: £426 million), including by dealers, insurers, and lenders.”
Car & Classic reported it has generated £1.3 million of largely recurring revenue in 2018, with £898,000 gross profit (-£458,000 net). Turnover was £163,000 in December (£31,000 net profit). Data contracts account for 60% of revenues with the remaining 40% from ads.
“In October 2018, the Financial Ombudsman announced that they recommend Cazana valuations for insurance loss cases. We are becoming the default choice for dealers & insurers looking to trade more efficiently with fair, transparent market data.”
Prior to launching on Crowdcube, Car & Classic raised £923,530 from 11 investors. Funds from the funding round will be used to continue the growth and development of the Car & Classic marketplace. It is set to close in late February.
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