5 April 2024

·       £42m raised in combined Series B and Series B extension investment
·       Bumper to use investment to expand reach as it seeks to become the “dominant payment platform for car dealers across Europe”
. Latest funding round follows record growth with Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) up 100% YoY

Bumper, the automotive fintech enabling flexible payments for car repairs, has raised a further £2 million in a Series B extension round which sees Suzuki Global Ventures and Marubeni Ventures investing in the business.

As automotive businesses the new investors are strategically important and will help further accelerate Bumper’s scaled growth in the UK and Europe.

Suzuki has a strong European dealer network, with its UK operation recently ranked as the top performing automotive brand in the Institute of Customer Service’s 2024 UK Customer Satisfaction Index.

Marubeni owns three dealership groups in the UK: RRG Group and HPL Motors Group in Manchester and Norton Way Motors in London.

Bumper is currently available through 5,000 dealers, which have provided payment solutions for more than 250,000 repairs in the last 12 months. The business plans to continue to double that number each year.

This latest investment follows 2023’s £40 million Series B fundraise which attracted further investment from Autotech Ventures, Shell Ventures, JLR’s InMotion Ventures and Porsche Ventures. Investment in Bumper now totals £55 million.

The funding round comes on the back of record growth for the business, with Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) growing 100% YoY and customer numbers up 80% in the last 12 months.

James Jackson, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bumper, said:

“With Suzuki Global Ventures and Marubeni Ventures joining our growing portfolio of major automotive investors, we can accelerate our ambitious plans to be the dominant payment platform for car dealers in the UK and across Europe.

“We’re delighted that Suzuki Global Ventures and Marubeni Ventures see the value of what we’ve already achieved and our future potential. Unexpected and unbudgeted car repair bills are a universal problem requiring flexible payment solutions that benefit customers and dealers. With our investors’ support we’re now ideally placed to invest in new products and increase our dealer footprint.” 

Kinji Saito, Director and Senior Managing Officer, Suzuki said:

“Bumper’s unique AI technology enables real-time financing decisions, thereby making it easier for customers to take their cars for repairs and services, and dealers to attract customers.

“With this investment, made through Suzuki Motor Corporation’s corporate venture capital fund, we aim to enhance the convenience of customers through expanding Bumper’s services.”

Tristan Jennings, Senior Associate of Marubeni Ventures said:

“Bumper has clearly demonstrated an ability to address the unique financing needs of automotive repair customers, reduce friction at point of sale and improve the user experience, while seamlessly integrating into existing dealership IT infrastructure.

“We aim to leverage Marubeni’s existing businesses in the automotive and auto finance sectors to further expand Bumper’s reach and build upon its outstanding level of customer service.”

ENDS

About Bumper (www.bumper.co)

Featured among the fastest growing FinTech companies in the FT1000 rankings of Europe for the past four years, Bumper works with over 5,000 dealerships and garages across the UK, Spain, Germany, Netherlands and Republic of Ireland, helping over 600,000 drivers to pay their servicing and repair bills through PayLater, PayNow and PayPad.

It counts most of the world’s major automotive brands as clients, including Ford, Volkswagen, Nissan, Volvo, Seat, Skoda, Audi, JLR and Porsche.

Bumper is based in London and Sheffield, with a tech development centre in Ankara, Turkey. For more information, visit https://www.bumper.co/ and follow us @BumperPay