3:13 pm, February 28, 2023
Former Lookers directors Andy Bruce and Nigel McMinn have invested in an automotive tech firm.
The pair – who previously ran the listed car dealer group – have branched out from their fleet management business Fleet Alliance and invested an undisclosed sum in AutoComms Solutions.
Bruce and McMinn are currently CEO and COO of Fleet Alliance, the same respective positions they held at Lookers.
They will join the board of AutoComms, the firm behind the handover communications platform AutoBuzz that is already used by the likes of the JCB Group, Steven Eagell and Waylands Automotive.
The tech platform connects dealers with customers between order and handover.
It helps keep customers excited about the arrival of their new vehicle with personalised content throughout the ‘post-order, pre-handover gap’.
Bruce said: ‘The founders of AutoComms have identified a huge opportunity within the retail automotive industry around the car buying process. Nigel and I are very excited about the journey that the business is on.
‘The technology has proven to positively impact customer satisfaction levels as well as selling additional products and services. The ROI to retailers and OEMs is hugely compelling.’
The intention is for Bruce and McMinn to support AutoComms in shaping an offering for the fleet world.
McMinn added: ‘We know the retail automotive space well, but we are now immersed in the fleet and leasing sector and AutoBuzz can easily support some key challenges in this world.
‘Fleet managers and their drivers need a lot of information about their vehicle as well as its latest delivery updates.’
CEO and co-founder of AutoComms Solutions, Ingram Sanders, added: ‘The level of experience and insight that Nigel and Andy have is unbelievable and a massive coup for our business.
‘Since we started talking with them at the end of last year it was clear that they believed in our vision and felt compelled to come on this journey with us and the other shareholders.
‘We’re all very excited to see how we can develop the technology together.’
Bruce and McMinn stepped down from Lookers in November 2019 after a series of profit warnings. Bruce was with Lookers for nine years, taking the top job in 2014.
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