CarGurus has closed its initial public offering after a five-day share of sales which hoped to raise $100 million for the Auto Trader rival.

Reuters reported that the offering, which went live on the Nasdaq last Wednesday, had drawn to a close last night.

CarGurus hoped to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission.

The public offering comes just months after CarGurus founder Langley Steinert told AM that “profitability isn’t an issue” as it targeting growth in the UK.

Its public offering could change that position.

Speaking to AM last November, Steinert, who also founded the TripAdvisor business, said: “Our focus is on growing a bigger audience. We believe if you can build a big audience and get the most users then the rest will follow.

“Thanks to the fact that we are a private company we don’t have to worry so much about revenue and profitability.

“Over 15 years operating in the US we are the clear market leader and we can really afford to fund our UK push through that and, because we’re not a public company, we don’t have shareholders breathing down our necks.

“Our aim is to bring the principals of transparency that were the hallmarks of TripAdvisor to the UK automotive sector and to become the market leader here, as we are in the US.”

CarGurus aims to focus on transparency of pricing and retailer reviews to appeal to customers in the same vein that TripAdvisor did with the travel and hotel booking sector.

Launched in the US in 2007, CarGurus now has 22 million unique monthly users across the Atlantic.

Last year it reported full-year revenue of $198.1 million and a per-share loss of 58 cents a share in 2016, according to the MarketWatch website.

Goldman Sachs, Allen & Co. and RBC Capital Markets are listed among the underwriters.

Speaking at the launch of the business’ public offering last week Steinert said: “Today is a significant milestone for CarGurus that reflects the hard work of the entire CarGurus team as well as the support and enthusiasm we’ve had from our consumers, dealers, partners and investors over the years.

“Our mission to build the world’s most trusted and transparent online automotive marketplace continues, and we’re excited to enter this new chapter.

“The CarGurus team remains dedicated to serving our customers and delivering unbiased transparency that enables shoppers to easily find great deals from top-rated dealers.”