Insurance auction platform honcho has closed an £850,000 funding round, through a crowdfunding campaign and equity investment.
Private equity firm Maven Capital Partners made a £150,000 investment in to the startup, with the remaining £700,000 coming through investors on CrowdCube. The initial target for the crowdsale, which closed nine days early, was £650,000, but the campaign hit its £850,000 hard cap following backings from 813 investors on the site.
Earlier in the year, FinTech Global reported the company had pulled in up to £735,000 in a crowdsale, following commitments from 556 investors. At this point, honcho had distributed 35.27 per cent of its equity to the investors, and was raising the funds at a pre-money valuation of £1.35m.
UK-based honcho is a price comparison website for motor insurance, which aims to reduce prices through its ‘reverse auction’ marketplace. The system works by insurance companies bidding for business with consumers, to ensure quotes are competitive.
Following the investment, the company will relocate to the English county of Durham. Capital from the crowdfund will be used to support the final developments of its software and the launch of the product planned for later in the year.
This investment marks the fifth deal from the £20m Finance Durham Fund managed by Maven Capital, which is investing in companies located in or relocating to Durham. The vehicle has funding from Durham County Council and is overseen by Durham economic development organisation Business Durham.
Maven Alex investment manager Marsh said, “honcho is a hugely exciting new business and we are delighted to support its plans to launch such an innovative app for motorists that empowers the consumer and ultimately reduces the cost of insurance. The team has identified a clear gap in the market and the overwhelming response from the crowd demonstrates that there’s a real appetite for the technology they’ve developed.”
This is the latest made by Maven this year, having led the £1.1m investment in to Curo Compensation. The company is a compensation management software solution that helps clients to manage pay review cycles quickly.
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