London-based Carmoola offers car financing through a mobile app and has secured a £300 million private asset-backed securities (ABS) facility, in partnership with NatWest Group, an Edinburgh-based banking institution, and Chenavari Investment Managers, a London-based investment management firm specialising in credit and structured finance. With this round, the company’s total funding exceeds £540 million.
- Founded in 2021 by Aidan Rushby, Amy McKechnie, Roman Sumnikov, and Ihor Hordiychuk, Carmoola is a direct-to-consumer car finance provider that operates entirely through a mobile app. The solution enables users to check their eligibility, receive a provisional loan budget in under a minute, and complete the financing process, including identity verification and payment, without relying on brokers or dealerships.
- Carmoola offers both hire purchase and personal contract purchase options, using real-time credit assessments and fraud prevention tools. Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Carmoola functions as a fully digital lender.
- In 2024, the company raised £15.5 million in equity funding from QED Investors, VentureFriends, InMotion Ventures, AlleyCorp, and u.ventures.
Details of the deal
- ABS debt facility is a type of financing that uses money a company expects to receive in the future as a promise to pay back. It works by bundling together contracts that generate regular payments — such as car loans, home mortgages, and credit card bills — and using those bundles as collateral to raise money from investors.
- £300 million credit will enable the firm to expand its lending capacity, reduce financing costs, and accelerate growth. This capital will enable the firm to reach a broader range of UK car buyers by scaling its fast, transparent, direct-to-consumer car finance platform.
"This partnership is transformative and marks a major milestone for us. Not only does it triple our previous debt capacity, but it also provides the scale and efficiency needed to rapidly deploy our fast, fair, and transparent car finance for the benefit of UK consumers," claims Aidan Rushby, founder and CEO of Carmoola.
