£2million funding for NI comparison site
A Northern Ireland online comparison site has announced it has raised almost £2million of startup capital in just a year and a half.
Mycarneedsa.com, headquartered in Portadown, has just secured £400,000 of further investment, after raising £1.5million since the company launched in October 2014.
This new innovation allows car owners to post the work required on their vehicle which is then offered to the MyCarNeedsA.com network of moderated and approved service providers. Car owners then sit back and watch the garages bid for their work then select the quote that suits them best. Customers can choose the most suitable quote based on the cost, services offered or previous customer feedback.
Mycarneedsa.com has already seen over 70,000 car owners visit the site, with over 3,000 automotive service providers signed up to the service. Company funding has been raised through a combination of corporate and UK private investors, including £500,000 from Northern Ireland private investors from Halo, the NI business angel network, and significant investment from the NI Co-Fund.
Managing Director of Mycarneedsa, Scott Hamilton, explains: “We know how much people research online nowadays before committing to a purchase, which has resulted in the huge growth of comparison sites in sectors such as insurance, travel and grocery retailing. It struck me that there were no such sites for consumers to compare trusted alternatives for vehicle repairs, despite the fact that research shows that car owners are often uncertain about where to find quality services that can still offer great value.
“It’s clear that, up until now, consumers have often been forced to sacrifice quality in their efforts to secure the best deal. Our performance so far, with almost 11,000 jobs per month (a figure which is rising every month), suggests I was right. Almost 40% of customers do not accept the cheapest price. Instead, the quality of service provided along with the transparency of viewing previous customer feedback, allows customers to make a decision based on trust, convenience and price.”
Alan Watts, Director of Halo said, “Mycarneedsa.com is a company which understands the reality that no longer do people go for a “garage down the road’ because they are the cheapest or the closest.
“We are a nation that wants the best deal in the most convenient way and online can be the solution. In just a short space of time the company has expanded across the UK, opened up new headquarters and acquired thousands of reputable providers. We expect them to be a major player in the automotive sector in the next few years.”
For more information, please visit https://mycarneedsa.com/ or http://halo.nisp.co.uk/
