London-based vehicle data company Cazana uses AI and big data to provide customers with information on modern and classic cars. The startup has just closed a fundraising campaign on Crowdcube, raising over €1.75 million – more than 150% of its target investment. Cazana and its subsidiary Car & Classic are now the UK’s most popular free car listing sites with over two million visitors monthly.
Launched in 2013, Cazana also offers free online car checking and valuation services for customers, allowing them to access real-time values of vehicles along with previously unseen history information. Its database, which covers every car on the road, also provides insights to businesses to inform their lending and pricing strategy. Cazana is expecting to reach €25.7 million in revenue by 2022.
The raise was led by Passion Capital, along with industry heavyweights David Hammond and ex-RAC Managing Director Robert Diamond, with existing Cazana customers and motoring enthusiasts also investing their money in the rapidly growing business.
The new funding will support the global expansion of the business, as well as accelerating monetisation of Cazana’s B2B sales. It will also be used to develop Cazana’s growing suite of services, including the newly acquired Car & Classic website, and support its expansion in the US market.
The acquisition of Car & Classic in 2018 enabled Cazana to pool two powerful digital motoring databases. Car & Classic is Europe’s largest classic car community as well as the world’s largest classified website for classic cars, facilitating the sale of more than 480 million classic cars in 2018.
“I’m absolutely delighted with this amazing result and to see Cazana and Car & Classic raise significantly above target,” said Tom Wood, CEO of Cazana. “It’s fantastic to see a whole range of investors become a part of the company, from well-established backers to first-time investors. With the acquisition of Car & Classic last year and the closing of this raise, it’s been an unbelievably successful twelve months for us.
“This raise will accelerate our plans for UK growth, secure a stronger foothold in the US, invest in our consumer facing platforms and expand our reach and services to better help both consumers and businesses. The motor industry is full of potential for businesses pushing it in a new direction and I can’t wait to get going on our plans for the future.”
“It is exciting to see companies like Car & Classic and Cazana challenge and drive transparency in a traditionally opaque industry,” said Luke Lang, co-founder of Crowdcube. “It is their dedication and passion that has resonated so much with the Crowdcube community.”