How time flies! July is officially one year since Evolution Funding and Click Dealer joined forces.

It’s incredible that in such a short time, so much has been achieved, from holding workshops on Compliance, Automation and Eligibility, allowing us to open valuable channels for knowledge sharing, to both companies growing in their position as market leaders in their respective areas.

“The warm welcome we received straight out of the gates has helped everybody come together and it has been exciting so far and continues to be about what we can achieve together”

Pippa Rawlinson CFO – Click Dealer

Both Evolution Funding and Click Dealer have spent the last 12 months investing and building important synergies and relationships that will allow us to unlock benefits over the coming year.

These benefits include how Evolution Funding and Click Dealer can collaboratively build and bring unique propositions and solutions to the market.

“I do believe that with the enthusiasm, the hard yards we have put into year one, we will definitely see those synergy benefits coming through in year two and we have an incredible proposition to take to market.”

Lee Streets CEO – Evolution Funding

One year has passed but the best is yet to come.

Evolution Funding has written over £100 million of advances in a month for the first time. The record advances delivered during March have been described as a “massive milestone” for the motor finance broker and technology provider.

The business, which will celebrate 20 years of trading this year, emerged from 2021 with strong year-on-year growth in advances of 178%.

Lee Streets, Evolution Funding chief executive said: “2021 saw an impressive performance for Evolution, with £835m in loan advances and nearly 67,000 vehicles funded. Achieving this £100 million milestone sets us up for brokering £1 billion of motor finance in 2022.

It only seems like yesterday that we were celebrating writing 1000 cases in a month for the first time. Achieving £100 million advances has been an incredible effort from every team and individual within the company and we thank everyone wholeheartedly for their continued focus and determination.”

Chris Coverdale, Evolution Funding Group Sales Director added: “We have been consistent in delivering new technology and integrated digital and financial solutions to the motor finance market year on year. This strategy has paid dividends in an industry where digitisation has been accelerated during the pandemic and regulatory changes require an innovative response in support of our dealers and partners.

I am immensely proud of what we have achieved. I remember the first time we set £100M advances as an annual target and there were some people who told us it was impossible!”

Evolution Funding Group (“Evolution”), the leading motor finance broker and technology provider to the UK used car market, has completed the acquisition of automotive software and digital services provider Click Dealer Limited (“Click”) for an undisclosed sum. The transaction marks a significant move to broaden Evolution’s digital and SaaS proposition.

Since receiving investment from mid-market private equity firm LDC in 2019, Evolution has achieved significant growth, enhancing its technology platform and developing best-in-class online finance customer journeys. Offering innovative credit pre-screening, automated lender selection, finance self-serve and checkout automation technologies, Evolution is at the forefront of the growth in online motor finance in the UK. This strategic acquisition, which was supported with follow-on funding from LDC, will help bring these capabilities to Click Dealer customers and takes Evolution a step further towards its next milestone of brokering more than £1bn motor finance in a year.

Click was formed in 1999 and has established itself as a leading automotive software business, provider of dealer website hosting, proprietary dealer management systems, and associated digital solutions for independent motor retailers. Click currently services and supports over 1,550 dealers across the UK.

Click is highly complementary to Evolution’s existing services and further backs its growth strategy to enhance its technology, digital capabilities and SaaS proposition. The company employs a team of 63 at their head office in Stoke-on-Trent and will continue to operate under the leadership of Gerry Moxham, Ollie Moxham and Pippa Rawlinson. It will remain as a separate legal entity within the Evolution Funding Group.

Lee Streets, chief executive at Evolution, said: “We are acquiring a highly-regarded data-driven, end-to-end, automotive software provider. They have a fantastic reputation in the market and there are many similarities with our own company culture – it’s a great fit.

“A key part of Evolution’s vision is to lead change and digital innovation in motor finance. The acquisition of Click, with its market-leading platform, will help accelerate our ability to deliver this, whilst also supporting our objective of brokering £1 billion of motor finance in the UK. 

“We are keen to maintain Click Dealer’s agnostic position on finance, offering true flexibility and choice for the retailer and the customer. In addition, our aim is to make innovative features and functions available via Click’s platform that deliver best-in-class digital finance journeys and increase point of sale finance sales for dealers.

“We will work quickly to offer Click retailers’ access to Evolution’s technology. The prospect of creating frictionless online finance journeys for consumers on the Click platform is incredibly exciting for both businesses.”

Gerry Moxham, founder of Click Dealer, said: “We are delighted to be embarking on the next stage of Click’s journey as part of the well respected and highly successful Evolution Funding Group.

“This strategic decision to integrate with Evolution puts us in a great position to support dealers now, and in the future, as a true performance partner. We look forward to working with the team at Evolution in delivering new innovations and integrated digital and financial solutions for dealerships across the UK.”

LDC’s Lawrence Dean said: “This is a significant milestone for Evolution as the business looks to enhance its market position and technology capabilities. We will continue to work closely with the management team to identify other complementary businesses that support the management team’s growth strategy.”