Car finance firm secures private equity backing

Evolution Funding, the Chesterfield B2B car finance broker, has secured investment from private equity firm LDC that values the company at £110m.

The deal will see LDC take a “significant” minority stake in the business and has been backed by acquisition finance facilities from Santander and Aviva Investors.

The company has also developed a direct-to-consumer product, MyCarCredit, which provides direct access to Evolution’s brokered funding platform.

Evolution brokered loan advances of over £430m in 2018 and employs over 200 people both at its headquarters in Chesterfield. The business will continue to be led by co-founders Lee Streets and Jeremy Levine, sales sirector Chris Coverdale, with the team being joined by incoming finance director Kevin Kaye.

The investment was led by LDC’s Lawrence Dean, Andy Lyndon and Alistair Pendleton, with support from Dan Gluckman. As part of the transaction, Lyndon and Dean will join Evolution’s board. In addition, Steve Weller – former chief executive of previously LDC-backed price comparison website uSwitch – will be appointed chairman, while Tim Porter, former managing director of Lex Autolease, will be appointed non-executive director.

Lee Streets, chief executive of Evolution, said: “This is a big moment for the business. We’ve spent the last 15 years listening to customers and developing the best technology in the market for vehicle finance. Bringing a partner on board like LDC gives us not only the capital to accelerate our growth, but also the boardroom expertise to help us unlock the potential of our business.”

Lawrence Dean, investment director at LDC, said: “Evolution Funding is a classic example of an entrepreneurial business that is disrupting a market with innovative technology to the benefit of its customers. Lee, Jeremy and the team have been forward-thinking, consistently growing the business since its inception, with a clear commitment to customer service and compliance. There’s a significant opportunity to scale further in the UK, working with new partners, and by investing in its market-leading Evolve platform and digital capabilities as well as its customer-facing product, MyCarCredit, which has significant potential.”

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