UK-based car repairs BNPL payment platform, Bumper has raised £26.1 million in funding from its Series A extension round, highlighted by the backing of Jaguar Land Rover’s investment arm – InMotion Ventures (which backed Circulor and Carmoola).
Further leading Silicon Valley venture capitals Autotech Ventures, along with ITOCHU and Revo Capital also invested in the automotive fintech startup.
The extension round ends just over one year after the automotive fintech startup’s Series A round raised £10.5 million ($12 million) in June 2021, bringing the total investment to £36.6 million ($42 million).
Founded in 2013 by Jack Allman and James Jackson, London-based Bumper (formerly Auto Service Finance) already works with over 4,000 dealerships and garages across the UK, Spain, Germany and Republic of Ireland, and will use the new funds to continue its European expansion.
It is a digital payment platform for vehicle repairs and services that has enabled over 330,000 vehicle owners to pay online, in-store or spread their costs over monthly instalments interest-free. It also delivers an instalment financing solution using proprietary AI-enabled technology to facilitate real-time lending decisions.
James Jackson, CEO, Bumper commented:
“Bumper’s rapid growth trajectory has been incredibly exciting, and the new round of investment from our amazing partners means that we can continue this growth trajectory and pursue our lofty goals to expand further across Europe.
“As the cost-of-living crisis tightens, it’s never been more important to offer affordable and convenient payment options giving driver peace of mind when getting their vehicles repaired.”
John Gribbon, Regional Managing Director of Yorkshire and the North East at Secure Trust Bank, said:
“We first began working with Bumper’s management team nearly three years ago and since then the business has shifted up a gear, developing its technical capability and growing its network of dealerships thereby demonstrating the strength of its business model. Our close relationship with the team and our growing understanding of the business has allowed us to work quickly and flexibly, keeping pace with Bumper’s growing working capital needs. This latest investment round puts the business in pole position for further success.”
Cenk Bayrakdar, Managing Director and Founding Partner at Revo Capital, commented:
“Bumper’s impressive growth and history achieving success through its comprehensive fintech solution for car repairs has well-positioned Bumper to accelerate its international growth. James and his team continue to prove Bumper’s strength and effectiveness in this space, and we are excited to join them on the next leg of their journey and support Bumper’s R&D initiatives in Türkiye.”
Alexei Andreev, Managing Director at Autotech Ventures, commented:
“We are impressed by the clever finance tools and modern software used by Bumper, and how this technology is becoming essential in today’s economy. Autotech continues to support the team on its journey to becoming an industry leading BNPL product.”
Mike Smeed, Managing Director at InMotion Ventures, commented:
“Our team continues to be impressed by Bumper’s remarkable growth in the UK, and more recently in Ireland, Spain and Germany. We are delighted to announce our additional investment into the business, and look forward to supporting the team as they expand across Europe.”
While, based in London and Sheffield, Bumper also has a tech development centre in Ankara, Turkey.
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