Motorway raises USD 190m in Series C

Wahida Ahmed
29 November 2021

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Index Ventures and Iconic Growth have co-led a USD 190m funding round for Motorway, valuing the UK-based used car sales platform at more than USD 1bn.

Index is investing via Index Ventures Growth VI, which focuses on later-stage growth rounds, and invests in Europe and the US.

Existing backers Latitude, Unbound and BMW i Ventures also participated in the Series C. The investment brings the amount raised since it was founded to USD 273m.

Motorway recorded a 300% uplift in third-quarter sales completed on its platform to USD 411m, compared with USD 105m the same time last year, according to a press release. It further reported that more than 100,000 used cars have been sold on Motorway since its launch, with 8,000 cars currently being sold a month.

Unquote sister publication Mergermarket reported in May 2021 that Motorway tripled in size amid the transition of the used car market online.

Motorway intends to use the latest investment to grow its team, specifically by hiring tech talent. Its headcount is expected to grow from 250 to 350 over the next 12 months.

Previous funding
In June 2018, LocalGlobe and Marchmont Ventures structured a GBP 2.75m seed funding round for the company, alongside Zoopla founder Alex Chesterman.

In June 2019, LocalGlobe participated in a GBP 11m Series A funding round led by Marchmont Ventures.

In June 2021, Motorway secured GBP 48m in a funding round led by Index Ventures.

Company
Founded in 2017, Motorway runs a platform for the sale of used cars. It has a team of 250 employees working in offices in London and Brighton.

According to a company statement, Motorway has seen 300% year-on-year growth in completed sales on its platform. The company also announced the appointment of James Wilson, former director of marketplace fulfillment at Amazon UK, as its chief operating officer.

People
Motorway – Tom Leathes (CEO, co-founder); Harry Jones, Alex Buttle (co-founders); James Wilson (chief operating officer).
Index Ventures – Danny Rimer (partner).
Iconic Growth – Yoonkee Sull (partner).