UK vehicle data company Cazana.com has closed its crowd-fundraise on Crowdcube, after raising more than £1.5m (€1.74m) and gaining over 150% of its target investment to push its global growth plans.

The raise hit the £1m (€1.16m) target in minutes after launch

The funding will support the international expansion of the business, as well as accelerating monetisation of Cazana’s B2B sales. It will also be used to develop Cazana’s growing suite of services, including the newly acquired Car & Classic website, and support its expansion in the US market. This business, which launched in 2013, uses AI and big data to provide information on modern and classic car, and is predicted to hit £22m in revenue by 2022.

Tom Wood, CEO of Cazana, said: “This raise will accelerate our plans for UK growth, secure a stronger foothold in the US, invest in our consumer facing platforms and expand our reach and services to better help both consumers and businesses. The motor industry is full of potential for businesses pushing it in a new direction and I can’t wait to get going on our plans for the future.”

The raise was led by Passion Capital, along with recently appointed Cazana chairman David Hammond and Robert Diamond – former MD of Motoring Services at the RAC and Cazana board advisor – plus existing Cazana customers and motoring enthusiasts. Passion Capital added a further £100k to its initial investment during the course of the public raise.

Robert Dighero, partner at Passion Capital, commented: “Congratulations to Tom and the team for this great outcome which is a testament to the quality of Cazana and Car & Classic’s offering. Passion Capital’s extra investment during the public raise demonstrates our confidence in the business and the vast opportunities ahead in this exciting area of the motor industry. The fact the public have so enthusiastically backed Cazana with this overfund shows that the services it offers are in high demand, with businesses and consumers both greatly benefiting from the shared insight.”