1:27 pm, October 1, 2026
Carwow losses increased to nearly £24m in 2025 – up from £19.7m the year before – after a year of ‘investment in technology and product development’.
The loss before tax of £23,912,502 comes after record growth in revenue which saw the marketplace and automotive media business bring in £104.2m.
Revenues were up 22% on the £85.1m achieved in 2024, an achievement the firm said was a ‘massive milestone’.
Carwow said the group was impacted by a ‘challenging’ first half of the financial year as ‘international tariffs affecting the automotive sector weighed on trading’.
However, the firm said performance in the second half of the year improved as the business implemented ‘disciplined cost’ management.
Carwow said that in 2025 its Sell My Car division, which deals with auctioning used cars to dealers in its daily auctions, has ‘continued to scale at pace’ while the firm saw its YouTube channel subscriber numbers hit 10.8m in the year.
Carwow now owns a number of magazine titles too, including Auto Express and Evo, which it wrapped up into its wider business. It said across the group its content channels generated 2.2bn views in 2025.
Writing in the annual accounts, CEO John Veichmanis said: ‘Central to our vision is the continued development of a single platform that customers can use to sell their old car and purchase a new one and this enables us to provide our customers with both value and convenience.
‘We’ll continue to invest into new technologies that enhance our C2B auctions and we’re excited about the prospect of leveraging AI to improve remote vehicle appraisals so that we can enhance auction listing quality and enhance the end to end sales process for both consumers and dealer partners.’
Going concern
Carwow has now clocked up losses of £60.1m in the last three years, but despite this the firm says it has adequate resources to continue for the foreseeable future after reviewing its ‘forecasts and cash flow projections’.
The firm said: ‘Based on the forecasts prepared, management is satisfied that the group will have sufficient cash resources to operate as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months from the date of the report.’
The accounts reveal that Carwow’s cash reserves fell sharply during the year, dropping from £34m at the end of 2024 to £15m by December 2025.
Net assets fell faster, from £30.9m to £9.6m, while the business continues to carry around £26.1m of venture debt which is due to be repaid in December next year.
In a statement issued separately to the official accounts uploaded to Companies House, Veichmanis added: ‘Breaking through £100m is a massive milestone for Carwow.
‘Our business is flying; more people are coming to Carwow not just to research their next car, but to sell the one they have, compare their options and get their next one, whether that means buying new or used, financing or leasing.
‘The car market has never offered drivers more choice, but more choice can also mean more complexity.
‘New brands are arriving at pace, affordable electric cars are changing consumers’ practical lifestyle and financial considerations, and the old ways of buying and selling cars are being disrupted.
‘That plays directly to what Carwow does best: Giving people the confidence to make one of their biggest purchasing decisions.
‘We’ve spent years building an audience that loves cars and a marketplace that actually helps people change them. Bringing those two things together is what makes Carwow different, and the UK is where we are pushing that model furthest.’
Carwow also expanded its workforce considerably during the reported year, with the average number of employees climbing from 509 to 634 and total staff costs increasing from £38.5m to £46.3m.
Its core marketplace operations accounted for £74.3m of its £104.2m revenue, up from £58.9m the year before, while its Media and Content division – which includes its automotive publishing brands – generated £29.9m, compared with £26.2m in 2024.