Honcho secures £1.2m seed follow-on investment led by Crowdcube to support market expansion
Crowdcube led the follow-on investment round, with additional backing from Insurtech Gateway, Finance Durham Fund, and the North East Development Capital Fund.
Honcho operates a reverse auction marketplace that allows insurance companies to bid directly for consumer business. The platform aims to bring transparency and competitiveness to personal insurance shopping.
Durham-based insurtech startup Honcho has secured £1.2m in a seed follow-on funding round led by Crowdcube. The raise also drew participation from specialist investor Insurtech Gateway alongside returning backers Finance Durham Fund and the North East Development Capital Fund.
The capital injection follows an earlier £1.8m raise between 2018 and 2019, which supported the launch of the company's initial car insurance marketplace. Honcho intends to deploy the latest funds as it prepares to introduce dedicated reverse auction platforms for van and learner driver insurance later in the year.
From the founder
"Raising investment is one of the most challenging aspects of running a startup, and we’re delighted to have achieved this £1.2m raise with the continued support of Maven and with further investment from the crowd. We’re also thrilled to welcome Insurtech Gateway to the honcho family. As specialists in our sector they will bring an immense amount of support to honcho as we enter our next phase of growth. Insurtech Gateway’s expertise across the sector extends from technological capabilities to expertise on products and consumer acquisition, and we’re looking forward to working with them."
Gavin Sewell
CEO at honcho
Investor perspective
"Aykley Heads is fast becoming an important Fintech cluster for Durham, so it’s extremely exciting to be able to continue to support honcho, one of the leading companies in the sector. Their base at Salvus House offers them the room to grow and provides them with a prestigious location in the heart of the city. We’ve supported them from the beginning and really look forward to continuing to watch them fulfil their potential with the support of Finance Durham."
Sarah Slaven
Operations Director, Business Durham
