Car finance marketplace Zuto has welcomed Chris Slater, co-founder and former COO of Simply Business, to its board as it secures funding for additional growth.

Slater (pictured) is credited with turning the start-up company into one of the UK’s most disruptive fin-tech businesses in the last ten years.

Simply Business is an online broker of business insurance with more than 475,000 customers.

James Wilkinson, CEO, Zuto said: ‘‘I’m delighted to welcome Chris Slater to the board. Chris brings with him experience in growing and transforming digital businesses and pioneering the use of data and technology.

“Our ambition is as big as ever and this latest funding round absolutely signifies this. Our future focus remains on bringing simplicity, trust and transparency to our customers and the UK car finance market.

“We are motivated by a desire to change the industry for the better, whilst building a progressive culture and I’m very proud of what the team has achieved so far. Our drive for fast growth is as strong as ever.”

Zuto has secured £7 million of funding to invest in its technology and customer experience.

The funding comes from existing investors, Scottish Equity Partners (SEP), which has a strong track record in supporting ambitious, high growth technology companies, such as Skyscanner and Matchesfashion, to scale.

Technology investment specialists Columbia Lake Partners, which has extensive credentials of early investment into businesses within the fin-tech sector, has also invested alongside SEP. 

The Manchester-based company, which launched in 2006, currently employs over 300 people across its Macclesfield and Manchester City Centre offices and plans to aggressively grow the team. The recruitment drive will focus on expanding the technology team within the Manchester office, and adding more customer experience roles at the contact centre based in Macclesfield.