6. carwow

Founders: David Santoro, Alexandra Margolis and James Hind
Founded: February 2014
Website: www.carwow.co.uk

Appearing in the Startups 100 index for the second year in a row is carwow, the start-up seeking to modernise the awkward and antiquated process of buying a new car and making it a more convenient experience for the consumer.

Originally founded as a research site, David Santoro, Alexandra Margolis and James Hind saw an opportunity to take the process out of the showroom and onto the internet. Users can quickly compare cars from rated and approved dealerships by price, location and reviews – removing the need for haggling, while claiming to save an average of £3,600 per purchase. carwow charges only the dealer for the number of sales completed through the platform, with the user able to find the best deals at no extra cost.

After taking total investment to £18.4m thanks to a £12.5m Series B round in January, 2016 has already proved a stellar year for the Holborn-based business, with one million now signed up to the service and £550m in sales for its network of 1,300 dealerships. Last month also saw the platform’s launch in Germany. Claiming to still have no direct competitors, carwow should have no problems fulfilling its ambition of 100 employees by the end of the year and developing a used car marketplace for the site.