Zuto secures £2.5m funding line
FAST-growing finance company Zuto has secured £2.5m working capital from Barclays to support its plans for UK and overseas expansion.
Zuto matches up consumers who want to buy used vehicles, from dealers or private sellers, with lenders who can offer finance at affordable rates. The company’s panel of lenders includes Barclays and Santander, as well as smaller, specialised finance companies.
The Macclesfield-based business, founded in 2006, employs more than 300 people and became the first car finance company to be accredited by the Financial Conduct Authority in June last year.
Zuto was ranked 7th in the Northern Tech Fastest Growing Companies 2015 and 18th in the Sunday Times best medium sized companies to work for 2016.
Paul Ramsden, Zuto finance director, said: “We have developed a strong relationship with Barclays as we need a banking partner for the long-term, supportive of our business aims and ambitions.”
Richard Faulkner, relationship director for technology, media and telecoms at Barclays Corporate, said: “Zuto is a fascinating company to work with and I have thoroughly enjoyed building a strong partnership with the management team over the last few months. A strong management team coupled with the energy and passion of all the staff has enabled them to achieve phenomenal growth in a short space of time.
“This is a low friction, online service that is hugely scalable both by category and internationally and we look forward to seeing the business grow over the months and years ahead.”
The funding line follows the £1m it secured from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority last month to support the expansion of its Manchester city centre offices, leading to the creation of 50 jobs.
