Autoquake.com set to continue meteoric growth with additional £4 million investment

London, England - April 14, 2009 - Autoquake.com, the UK’s leading online used car retailer, which has bucked the trend in the car industry and has doubled its sales in the last 6 months, today announced the completion of a £4 million round of venture capital funding from Accel Partners and Highland Capital Partners.

 
The financing is in addition to the £10 million already raised and will allow Autoquake.com to continue the meteoric growth of its UK operations, service offerings, technology platform and brand. It will also provide Autoquake.com with capital for its planned international expansion.

While much of the car industry has been wrestling with the worst trading conditions and results in living memory, Autoquake.com has been quietly bucking the trend, growing sales of used cars seven fold between 2007 and 2008. Total sales in 2009 are expected to exceed 15,000 cars assisted by the opening last month, of a new large-scale indoor distribution centre in Leeds to add to the existing site in Birmingham. Further locations are being planned in the future across the UK, which this latest funding will help support.

 
This success has been driven by Autoquake.com’s innovative ecommerce platform and user-friendly customer experience that allows cars to be processed with factory like efficiency and to be sold in a fraction of the time that cars remain on traditional dealer forecourts. As a result, Autoquake.com is able to offer car buyers discounts of more than 10% compared to traditional dealers and car supermarkets whilst still providing substantially higher returns to the fleet companies. In recent weeks Autoquake.com’s model has been recognised with a major Automotive Management Award for the Autoquake.com website and the coveted Hitwise Award for the high volume of consumer traffic.

 
“Autoquake.com has grown very strongly in the last year and we are now starting to develop real scale. This latest funding will enable us to continue to expand our operations and facilities to increase our volume, develop our technology which underpins the business model and grow the profile of the Autoquake.com brand still further, as well as providing capital for our international expansion.” commented Garry Hobson, CEO Autoquake.com. “We are delighted that our long term partners Accel and Highland have continued to invest in the development of the business. They bring a tremendous amount to Autoquake.com not just in terms of new capital but also their breadth of expertise in the ecommerce, internet and retail sectors.”

Kevin Comolli, Board Member and Partner of Accel Partners commented, "Autoquake.com's growth and achievements in the last year have been truly remarkable, especially considering the challenging economic climate. We are very proud of the company's success, which is a testament to the exceptional team, disruptive business model, innovative ecommerce platform and flawless execution. Consumers and fleet owners, especially during the economic downturn, will continue to benefit from Autoquake.com's value proposition."

Fergal Mullen, General Partner at Highland Capital Partners commented, “Autoquake.com has a powerful business model which stands apart in the sector. It is great to see this translating into success in the market place and rapid growth of the business, completely against the downturn in the broader automotive industry. We believe strongly in Autoquake.com’s future growth and potential and are pleased to continue to invest in the business”

Keith Allen, Managing Director of ALD Automotive says, “We have seen Autoquake.com grow rapidly from the early days when they first presented their new business model, to the point where they are starting to gain real scale and make significant ripples in the market place. ALD has always used a wide range of channels to optimise remarketing performance. With the increasing importance of the internet, it makes a lot of sense to use an online resource to reach the end customer. Autoquake.com provides a seamless way to do so and we intend to place more volume through Autoquake.com going forward.”

Autoquake.com’s proven online retail model sells high quality used cars on behalf of large corporate fleet and leasing companies direct to consumers through its website www.autoquake.com. Autoquake.com has pioneered the concept of enabling consumers to buy a used car from the comfort of their home. Cars are displayed in Autoquake.com’s virtual showroom with descriptions including over 50 high quality digital pictures. The breadth and transparency of information about the vehicle dramatically improves the purchase experience for the buyers who are enthusiastically embracing the Autoquake.com model which includes low, no haggle prices. All cars go through a 120 point inspection and come with a 100% money back guarantee. Car finance, warranty, insurance, part exchange and delivery are supplementary options that buyers can benefit from. Fleets typically remarket cars through trade channels such as wholesale auctions where cars are sold at trade prices to car dealers. For fleets Autoquake.com is an attractive disposal channel that gives them a slice of the retail margin whilst delivering days to sale that are similar to auctions.