Online used car marketplace heycar has cemented its intention to bring greater trust and transparency to the market and to continue rapid growth with a deal to purchase the long established and popular website, HonestJohn.co.uk.
HonestJohn.co.uk has been leading the way on independent motoring advice and straight-talking reviews for the past two decades to its loyal fanbase, and to more than 25 million site visitors, who look to the brand to help them make the right car buying decisions for them.
At the start of 2020, HonestJohn.co.uk Limited entered administration, however the heycar deal means that it is business as usual for the site, including the impartiality that HonestJohn.co.uk is renowned for.
In just seven months since launch, heycar has already made a massive impact on the UK automotive industry with more than 170,000 cars on the site and 3,500 franchised dealers signed up and selling via the platform.
Mat Moakes, CEO of heycar in the UK, says: “We launched heycar to drive greater trust and transparency for motorists and the industry. That’s exactly what Honest John has been doing for the past two decades. The acquisition of the site will allow us to achieve that mission faster, by bolstering heycar’s growth and industry presence.”
“We're always on the lookout for opportunities to grow and to enhance the experience for car buyers and drive commercial benefit for our dealers, captive and OEM partners, where company values align.”
Moakes says: “The independence and strong reputation of HonestJohn.co.uk has been earned through the years and brings great value - just some of the many reasons that this was such an attractive opportunity.
“We will maintain this independence through the formation of a clear editorial code between the two brands, continuing the impartial tone HonestJohn.co.uk’s millions of website visitors and tens of thousands of newsletter subscribers expect. Users of the Honest John forum will not notice any difference.”
The deal was led by Miles Needham and Simon Carvill-Biggs, partners at specialist business advisory firm FRP in St Albans, following their appointment as Joint Administrators of HonestJohn.co.uk Limited on 7th January 2020.
Note to editors: heycar launched in the UK in August 2019, and is part of the heycar Group. The platform has more than 3,500 franchised dealerships signed up to use its online service, with an inventory of more than 170,000 vehicles. All of heycar’s listed vehicles come with a warranty, are less than eight years old and have fewer than 100,000 miles on the clock. The launch of heycar UK followed on from the success of heycar Germany, which was launched in October 2017. heycar is a brand owned by Mobility Trader Holding GmbH (“heycar Group”), whose shareholders are Volkswagen Financial Services and Daimler Mobility.
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