Coutts backs Commuter Club to revolutionise travel for commuters

London-based Fintech Commuter Club has raised £2.2 million in an investment round led by the Coutts Investment Club, in tandem with a fundraise on leading European investment platform Seedrs. Thesaurium Capital and existing angel investors Chris Adelsbach (former Head of TechStars) and Peter Jackson (CEO at Flutter Entertainment Plc) have also come in on this round.

Commuter Club is the leading independent UK retailer and financing provider of commuter season tickets, having processed £70million+ in loans since 2014, helping over 20,000 customers save £10 million on their trip to work.

The money raised will be used to evolve the Commuter Club platform, starting by introducing a new ticket finder tool to help commuters cut through the complexity of ticket fares that leads to over £500 million wasted each year by purchasing the wrong ticket.

Recent progress in the adoption of smartcards by network operators means Commuter Club will soon be able to bring all the benefits of smartcard technology to its customers, including automatic delay repay refunds.

Commuter Club also announces a new partnership with Premium Credit, the leading UK premium finance company, who will provide financing for the product alongside Zopa, one of the UK’s leading peer to peer lending businesses.

Commuter Club is on a mission to save commuters time, money and hassle. UK commuters get a raw deal. Many part with more than 10% of their disposable income just to spend 2+ hours a day on overcrowded and unreliable services, resulting in powerless consumers at the mercy of train companies who don’t appear to have their best interests at heart.

Once described as one of “the hottest FinTechs in Europe”, the startup has seen its revenue grow three times year on year since 2014, and was included in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 as one of Britain’s fastest growing companies. The business was founded by Petko Plachkov, a former McKinsey consultant, and Imran Gulamhuseinwala, former Head of FinTech at EY, whose contributions to UK FinTech earned him an OBE.

Irina Iovita, CEO of Commuter Club said“Commuters have a right to cheaper and easier travel, so Commuter Club was founded to make this right a reality. Our unique tech platform makes the most cost-effective ticket, the annual season ticket, affordable to any commuter in the UK.

Now we want to do even more for UK commuters. Our goal is to become the go-to hub for all commuting needs with a diversified product offering helping commuters save time, money and hassle.”

Hans Prottey, who heads the Coutts Investment Club said: “Coutts were delighted to lead the latest investment round for Commuter Club. They have a unique proposition and industry connectivity, bolstered by an experienced Board and management team. We like how they’ve solved an everyday issue with an innovative and intuitive solution.”

“Capital was raised through Coutts which introduces direct private company investment opportunities, such as Commuter Club, to a select group of experienced clients who provide ‘capital and connections’. These include successful entrepreneurs, senior executives, finance professionals, and family offices. As well as providing financial support, the investors will share their expertise, experience, and networks with Irina Iovita and her leadership team.”

Jonathan, director at Thesaurium Capital said: “We are delighted to be able to partner with and invest in Commuter Club.  We have been impressed by their track record over the last few years in building a truly disruptive business in the commuter and ticketing sector in the UK and are excited to be part of their growth story going forward.”

Investor, Chris, comments: “Impressive team and traction; Commuter Club has been delivering since I first met them three years ago.”

Commuter Club is currently crowdfunding on Seedrs for more information please visit: www.seedrs.com/commuter-club