Lightfoot receives £3.2m to bring its connected car technology to more fleets

Telematics and driver behaviour firm Lightfoot has received a £3.2m investment and welcomed two new board members.

The funding, from investment firm BGF, will be used to drive growth in Lightfoot’s fleet business, its expansion into the consumer market and continued recruitment across the business.

Former CEO of Dyson, Martin McCourt joins Lightfoot as an investor and non-executive Chairman. Ned Dorbin from BGF also joins the board.

Described as the ‘Fitbit for cars’, Lightfoot’s technology enables drivers to monetise their everyday driving with prizes, discounts and rewards in recognition of their smooth driving style.

Lightfoot drivers have access to a range of exclusive discounts on insurance, dining, high-street shopping, and holidays. On top of this, users can enter competitions and leagues to win prizes and weekly cash giveaways, all of which give better driving genuine monetary value.

Drivers who want the upper hand can even activate Lightfoot’s real-time, in-cab feedback to help them achieve the ‘Elite Driver’ standard.  This unique functionality uses F1-style live analytics to help drivers stay within their engine’s ‘sweet spot’, typically resulting in a reduction in fuel costs and emissions by as much as 20% and at-fault accidents by as much as 40%.

Launched in 2013, Lightfoot disrupted the fleet sector by focusing on rewarding good driving rather than the traditional method of penalising bad driving.

More than 20,000 drivers now use Lightfoot across more than 150 clients including Virgin Media, Dixons Carphone, Southern Water, Ecotricity, Greencore and Dyno Rod.

The company is now bringing the benefits of smoother driving to private motorists in the UK with its consumer launch and has plans to expand the proposition globally.

“We’re on a mission to change the way people think about driving. And to make it fun again. We want everyone to enjoy the amazing benefits that smoother driving can have on their wallets and our planet. So far, we’ve created a community of Lightfoot drivers who are earning better deals for better driving – now, we’re excited to grow this with more like-minded motorists who believe good driving deserves rewarding.

“Our growth to date is a great testament to the hard work and commitment of the Lightfoot team. We believe that now is the right time to accelerate our expansion by bringing on board more people and increasing our engineering and sales capacity. We’re delighted to be embarking on this new stage with Martin and with the support and funding from BGF as our new minority partner,” said Mark Roberts, Lightfoot’s founder and CEO (pictured).