Dash cam brand Nextbase secures £10m investment from Sandton Capital

13/07/2020

Dash cam manufacturer Nextbase has completed a £10 million round of growth funding from Sandton Capital Partners, a London and New York based private equity fund.

Nextbase has an 80 per cent of the dash cam market in the UK and 50 per cent in Europe and is already a market leader in the US, where it only recently launched. A similar growth and share pattern is anticipated in new territories around the world.

Sandton’s investment will be used be used to accelerate the implementation of cutting edge new technologies, including 4G/5G functionality, and the development of leading Automotive and Insurance products and services. The investment will also fund continued expansion in North America and new international territories.

Matt Meehan, UK Head at Sandton, says: “Nextbase is a market leading UK technology business with ambitious export growth plans, despite the impact of COVID-19. We are impressed with Nextbase’s achievements to date and see a very bright future ahead. They came to us with a record of strong growth, clear revenue streams and an impressive strategy and Sandton are delighted to invest in their next phase of growth – expanding into markets that present huge opportunities and advancing technology in what is very clearly an exciting space. It is rare to see a British business which has realised such success in both local and international markets and we are excited to be playing a major part in their future growth in these uncertain times.”

Nextbase is a privately owned British consumer technology company which is bucking the trend by investing in UK-based infrastructure, staff and R&D. It has built up a large catalogue of proprietary Intellectual Property – widening product appeal and introducing the product sector to new customer demographics. Revenue has grown by over 30 per cent per annum in each of the last five years and will be approximately £62 million for the 2019/20 financial year. 

Richard Browning, director of Nextbase, says: “Our success in driving and evolving the dash cam category over the past five years has given us a very strong, market-leading position on which to build further. We have grown our business to date without external funding and as dash cams increasingly become an essential part of everyday driving we feel it is time to accelerate our plans. We see this investment as the route to expedite the roll-out of our cutting edge proprietary technology and our territory expansion, bringing this innovative technology to all drivers globally. We look forward to partnering with Sandton who share our values and goals.”

The global dash cam market has expanded rapidly and is expected to reach a total market size of USD7.5 billion by 2027. Nextbase’s growth has been attributed to its award-winning, category leading technology, wide range of models to cater for motorists varying needs and innovative sales and marketing strategies. The company has forged key partnerships over the years with national retail leaders including Best Buy, Walmart, Halfords and MediaMarkt. Nextbase products are now sold in more than 10,000 retail stores worldwide.

Sandton Capital Partners would like to thank Tim Armstrong and his team at PwC for facilitating the transaction and Stephen Phillips and his team at Temple Bright for legal support and counsel.

This article appeared on the Private Equity Wire website on 13 July 2020.