Carwow Group has acquired Gridserve Car Leasing from Gridserve, powering up plans to be “the online car changing marketplace”.

John Veichmanis, Carwow Group CEO

The acquisition will allow Carwow to expand its car leasing comparison engine, which provides access to a range of cars from brokers across the UK, and will see Carwow list its leasing offers alongside those from its existing partners.

Set for a relaunch later in Q4 with a new name and branding, the leasing operation will run as an independent business unit, led by Gridserve leasing director, Rob Buckland.

The business will also expand from its current EV-only proposition to include plug-in hybrid PHEV and ICE cars.

This latest acquisition is Carwow Group’s second in 2024; in February it bought Autovia, the automotive content and commerce media company, adding print and digital titles including Auto Express, Evo, DrivingElectric and Carbuyer to its portfolio.

John Veichmanis, Carwow Group CEO, said: “Bringing Gridserve Car Leasing into the fold will enable us to develop a range of exciting new product experiences for those looking to lease their new car. We plan to substantially increase our overall investment into the leasing category and quickly expand our reach. We want to serve more customers looking to lease a car, while also providing our existing broker partners with more enquiries on our pay-on-results model.

“I am really excited to welcome Rob and his team to Carwow. They’ve a huge amount of collective experience and energy and we can’t wait for them to get started.”

Carwow Group raised $52m (c.£39.7m) in July this year in a new funding round led by global venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners to help supercharge its strategic growth plans including further scaling, product expansion and acquisitions.

Gridserve said the divestment would enable it to focus on its core charging business.

Roy Williamson, executive chairman at Gridserve, commented: “We are delighted to announce that Gridserve’s car leasing business has been acquired by Carwow, under whose guidance and support the team will be able to accelerate their work to offer drivers a comprehensive range of leasing solutions. The acquisition follows Gridserve’s decision to focus on its core activities to deliver high-power charging, powered by renewables, in locations where drivers need it the most.”