- GRIDSERVE Car Leasing brokerage to become part of Carwow business
- Will allow Carwow to further enhance its car leasing comparison engine, which provides consumers with access to cars from brokers across the UK
- GRIDSERVE will focus on providing High Power charging faclities
CARWOW GROUP has has completed the acquisition of GRIDSERVE Car Leasing from EV charging company GRIDSERVE today (08 October 2024).
The purchase, says Carwow, is part of ambitious plans to rapidly-accelerate its mission to be the online car changing marketplace. GRIDSERVE Car Leasing is a leasing broker currently focused exclusively on EV lease deals.
This latest acquisition is Carwow Group’s second in 2024; in February it bought Autovia, the automotive content and commerce media company, which saw established print and digital titles including Auto Express, evo, DrivingElectric and Carbuyer becoming part of its portfolio.
Carwow says the acquisition will allow it to further enhance its popular car leasing comparison engine, which provides consumers with access to a huge range of cars from brokers across the UK. Carwow will list its leasing offers alongside those from its existing partners to provide even more choice.
The newly acquired leasing operation will run as an independent business unit, led by GRIDSERVE Leasing Director, Rob Buckland. While GRIDSERVE has historically focused only on leasing EV models, Carwow intends to expand the proposition to include PHEV and ICE cars once the brand is relaunched later in Q4 with a new name and visual identity.
Commenting on the acquisition, John Veichmanis, Carwow Group CEO, said: “It’s great news that we can announce another exciting acquisition today. Bringing GRIDSERVE Car Leasing into the fold will enable us to develop a range of exciting new product experiences for those looking to lease their new car. We plan to substantially increase our overall investment into the leasing category and quickly expand our reach. We want to serve more customers looking to lease a car, while also providing our existing broker partners with more enquiries on our pay-on-results model.”
Roy Williamson, Executive Chairman at GRIDSERVE, said: “We are delighted to announce that GRIDSERVE’s car leasing business has been acquired by Carwow, under whose guidance and support the team will be able to accelerate their work to offer drivers a comprehensive range of leasing solutions. The acquisition follows GRIDSERVE’s decision to focus on its core activities to deliver High Power charging, powered by renewables, in locations where drivers need it the most.”
Carwow Group raised $52m in July this year in a new funding round led by global venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners to help supercharge its strategic growth plans including further scaling, product expansion and acquisitions.
Ralph Morton is the leading journalist in the leasing broker sector and editor of Broker News, the website which provides information and news for BVRLA-registered leasing brokers. He also writes extensively on the fleet and leasing market in both the UK and Europe.
