Bumper secures £10m facility as it targets further expansion

Bumper has secured a £10m flexible working capital facility from Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance to support its ambitious growth plans.

This initial funding will be used to back continued expansion and growth across the UK, with the flexibility to increase in the future.

Bumper is Europe’s ninth fastest-growing fintech company according to the Financial Times and offers interest free Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) and PayNow products to finance vehicle repairs, servicing, add-ons and accessories.

The firm’s exponential growth follows a significant increase in dealership partners, with more than 60 per cent of the franchised market in the UK now using its platform, and the growing public adoption of BNPL to fund purchases. As a result, Bumper has seen record lending month-on-month and expects to see its gross merchandise value increase by threefold in 2021.

The initial facility will be used to support growth in the loan book and ensure Bumper can continue to help UK drivers spread the cost of their repair bills.

Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance provides a full suite of asset-based lending options including invoice financing, working capital and inventory financing. Currently the commercial finance arm of the listed bank has in excess £500m of facilities agreed to support growing businesses across the UK.

“Bumper is on a rapid growth trajectory, thanks to our continued increase in partner numbers, ever improving tech for dealerships, user experience for customers and our recent rebrand,” said James Jackson, CEO and co-founder of Bumper.

“We were keen to ensure that we partnered with a business that truly understood our market and objectives and could create a flexible facility with scope to grow with us. Secure Trust has invested time in getting to know the business, created a flexible facility that works for us and were able to deliver it quickly.”

The new funding provision follows last month’s launch of Bumper’s service in Ireland, its first European market outside of the UK, with the company planning to become Europe’s largest BNPL provider for car repairs and servicing.

About Bumper

Bumper provides an interest-free digital payment platform for vehicle repairs and services, enabling owners to spread their costs. Formerly Auto Service Finance, the multi award-winning UK fintech company delivers an instalment financing solution using proprietary AI enabled technology to facilitate real-time lending decisions.

Bumper enables dealerships and garages to sell a larger proportion of red and amber work, reducing workshop downtime, with no risks or liabilities, while also creating greater customer loyalty.

Co-founded by CEO James Jackson and CCO Jack Allman, Bumper is rated 89 in the 2021 FT 1000 listing of Europe’s fastest growing companies as well as the ninth fastest growing fintech business. Bumper works with 2,500 franchised dealers, over 650 garages and major car brands across the UK and Republic of Ireland, helping over 100,000 drivers to fund their servicing and repair bills.

Bumper is based in Sheffield and London, with a tech development centre in Ankara, Turkey.