Motorway snags unicorn status as it lines c-suite with Amazon and John Lewis leads

Used car marketplace Motoway has snagged unicorn status today, after a fresh $190m funding round has it gearing up for expansion.

High profile investors including Index Ventures, which backed Deliveroo, Etsy and Dropbox, as well as BMW i Ventures, Latitude and ICONIQ Growth piled into the Series C.

“We’re now completing over 8,000 car sales a month. That’s a big number, but still less than one percent of UK used car sales – so there’s massive opportunity ahead,” CEO Tom Leathes said.

“We’re thrilled to be working with the teams at Index, ICONIQ and the other investors in this new funding round. It will help us scale even faster, as we strive to build the best technology team in Europe, and change the used car selling experience for the better.”

With fresh funding and a sparkling $1bn valuation, Motorway is looking to hire more than 100 new staff over the next year.

The marketplace has already lined its senior leadership team with talent, poached from the likes of Amazon UK, Moneysupermarket and John Lewis – such as its new chief operating officer James Wilson and chief marketing officer Lloyd Page.

The new unicorn, based between London and Brighton, enjoyed a massive 300 per cent uplift in its third-quarter sales, which climbed from $105m last year to more than $410m in 2021.

Motorway had also previously secured $67.7m in its Series B in June – with the latest injection of capital brings the total investment figure up to $273m.