British-Ukrainian Carmoola Raises £300M for UK Auto Finance Expansion
Co-founded by Ukrainians with a development team in Ukraine, Carmoola is transforming UK car finance through instant mobile approvals and direct-to-consumer lending that cuts out traditional intermediaries.
KYIV, Ukraine — 24 June 2025
Carmoola, a UK-based car finance startup co-founded by Ukrainians, has raised £300 million ($405 million) through a private asset-backed securities (ABS) facility to triple its lending capacity and scale its direct-to-consumer platform. The financing, arranged with NatWest and Chenavari Investment Managers, marks a major step in the company's growth.
Founded in 2021 by Aidan Rushby, Amy McKechnie, Roman Sumnikov, and Ihor Hordiychuk, Carmoola combines London-based operations with a dedicated development team in Ukraine. The startup is reshaping how Brits finance their cars — offering instant approvals, customizable terms, and virtual cards, all through a mobile app.
“This partnership is transformative and marks a major milestone for us,” said CEO Rushby. “Not only does it triple our previous debt capacity, but it also provides the scale and efficiency needed to rapidly deploy our fast, fair, and transparent car finance for the benefit of UK consumers.”
Carmoola’s “finance-first” model lets buyers arrange car loans upfront, removing intermediaries and broker commissions. Customers can check their eligibility in under a minute, adjust payments flexibly, and secure financing for purchases — including electric vehicles, where the platform offers lower APRs and passes on ESG-linked cost savings.
The approach has helped the company double its customer base year-over-year, while improving transparency in a market that Rushby described as “a complete old banger.” The platform aims to disrupt the £120 billion UK car finance sector, where just 2% of purchases currently happen online.
The £300 million ABS facility replaces early-stage debt with a scalable structure designed to reduce financing costs and support long-term growth. “It significantly increases our lending capacity and materially reduces our financing costs,” said Frédéric de Benoist, Carmoola’s Director of Capital Markets.
The company’s funding journey began with a £320,000 pre-seed round in 2021, followed by a £27 million seed round in April 2022. That round was backed by VentureFriends, Clocktower Ventures, and Jaguar Land Rover’s InMotion Ventures. It supported the initial product launch and development of Carmoola’s mobile-first platform.
In February 2023, Carmoola raised £8.5 million in Series A equity, led by QED Investors, with participation from BCI and existing backers. The company also secured a £95 million debt facility at that time from NatWest and BCI to fuel lending growth and increase headcount.
In January 2024, Carmoola brought in an additional $16 million (£12.6 million) from new investors including AlleyCorp and u.ventures, which backs startups with Ukrainian roots. With the latest £300 million ABS facility, Carmoola’s total funding now exceeds £540 million.
While its headquarters remain in London, Carmoola’s cross-border engineering and product teams in Ukraine remain central to its development. Forbes Ukraine recently named the company one of the most promising Ukrainian-founded startups of 2025.
For a fintech born of international collaboration, its latest raise highlights not only institutional confidence in its model — but also the growing global visibility of Ukrainian-founded innovation.
