Exclusive: Cars24 raises Rs 100 Cr debt round from Trifecta

Used car selling platform Cars24 has raised Rs 100 crore in a debt round from Trifecta Capital and the fresh infusion has come after seven months of the company’s $200 million equity round that made it the first unicorn in the used car space.

Regulatory filings with MCA show Cars24 has allotted 1,000 series B debentures to Trifecta Venture Debt Fund - II at a fair value of Rs. 10 lakh each to raise the sum. Importantly, these are unlisted secured debentures for the period of 12 months.

The proceeds are likely to be used in buying cars from customers. For the uninitiated, Cars24 buys used four-wheelers and bikes from consumers and sells them to dealers through the auction model.

It’s worth noting that this would be the second debt round for Cars24. In July last year, it had raised Rs 10 crore in its maiden debt round from Vivriti Capital.

At present, the company is the de-facto leader in the used car space in India. Early this month, the company also forayed into international markets such as Australia and UAE and is eyeing a presence in SEA and more countries of the Middle East. 

Cars24 had entered the vehicle financing business with an NBFC licence in July 2019. According to Fintrackr, the company had earned Rs 10 crore from financial services and interest on loans during FY20.

Cars24’s leadership in the segment could also be noticed from its financial performance in FY20. The company had recorded around 82% growth in its topline which surged to Rs 3,065.23 crore during FY20 from Rs 1,687.8 crore in FY19.

Meanwhile, the Gurugram-based company also managed to bring down its annual losses by 12.5% to Rs 285 crore in FY20 from Rs 325.7 crore in FY19. Cars24 competes with CarDekho and CarTrade, which is preparing for a public listing.

So far, Cars24 has raised $405 million in equity capital across five rounds since its inception in 2015 from the likes of DST, Kingsway Capital, Sequoia and Unbound.