Maven and NVM inject £5m into Rockar

Kenny Wastell
19 July 2016

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Maven Capital Partners and NVM Private Equity have invested ТЃ5m in car dealership and e-commerce business Rockar.

Each firm contributed an equal amount in the round, which will fund the opening of new stores and product development. The business will also seek to secure new partnerships with car manufacturers, in addition to its existing agreement with Hyundai.

Though the automobile industry has not embraced e-commerce fully, private equity houses have invested in similar businesses previously. Accel Partners and Highland Capital Partners previously backed online used-car retailer Autoquake while, more recently, Kebek Private Equity acquired a controlling stake in Belgian car superstore chain Cardoen.

Previous funding
Seneca Partners invested £1m in Rockar in November 2014 via its EIS funds to support the launch of the company's first two stores in Kent and London.

Company
Founded in 2012 and headquartered in North Newbald, Yorkshire, Rockar is a car dealership selling new cars both online and via brick-and-mortar stores. Its stores make use of a digital platform that enables buyers to preview vehicles' features and guides them through the purchasing process.

People
Maven Capital Partners – Ryan Bevington (investment director).
NVM Private Equity – Liam May (lead investment manager).
Rockar – Simon Dixon (chairperson).

Advisers
Equity – Squire Patton Boggs, Jeremy Thompson (legal); Dow Schofield Watts, Jeff Gardner, Rob McCarthy (financial due diligence); RPL, Geoff Rampton, Roger Penney (commercial due diligence); Avalon Management Consulting, Tim Worrall (management due diligence); Intuitus, Andy Gardner, Douglas Eadie, Iain Mackay (IT due diligence); Aon, John Donald, Gordon Shaw (insurance due diligence).
Company – Seneca Partners Corporate Finance, Andrew Stubbs, Chris Bullough, Gordon Lane (corporate finance); Hill Dickinson (legal).