Accel leads £12.5m series-B for Carwow

According to Carwow, the fresh funds will be invested in brand development and marketing, with plans to add new products and services to its existing offer. As part of the agreement, Accel partner Fred Destin will take a seat on Carwow's board.

The series-B featured some of the company's previous backers as well, including Balderton Capital, Episode 1 Ventures and Samos Investments.

Previous funding
According to unquote" data, all three have been shareholders in Carwow since backing a first £1.3m seed round in February 2014. The investment, featuring entrepreneurs Simon Murdoch, Doug Monro and Zoopla founder Alex Chesterman, was used by the online service to strengthen its position in the UK and expand abroad.

In December 2014, Carwow secured a fresh £4.6m via a series-A that was also led by Balderton, followed by co-investors Episode 1 and Samos. At the time, it was stated the capital would fund new hires and Carwow's marketing efforts.

This latest round, the first in Europe to involve Accel since the €24m series-C for Latvian marketplace Vinted, comes one month after the VC bolstered its London team with new general partner Philippe Botteri.

Company
Founded in 2013, Carwow runs an online platform allowing car-purchasing customers to choose a model and then receive tailored offers from UK dealers. Headquartered in London, the business currently employs 50 staff and claims to have processed more than £400m in car-related deals since inception.

People
Accel Partners – Fred Destin (partner).
Balderton Capital – Rob Moffat (partner).
Carwow – James Hind (co-founder, CEO).

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• Topics
• Expansion
• Consumer
• UK / Ireland
• United Kingdom
• Accel Ventures
• Balderton Capital
• Venture