Houlihan Lokey Advises Bridgepoint
Bridgepoint has made a majority investment in Zuto
Buyside Advisor
Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Bridgepoint has made a majority investment in Zuto, a portfolio company backed by Scottish Equity Partners (SEP).
The transaction sees Bridgepoint’s small-cap Growth fund, which focuses on scaling fast-growing, profitable European businesses, become a majority shareholder in the business. The transaction also marks the exit of long-term investor SEP, a leading growth equity investor specialising in enterprise technology.
Founded in 2006 and certified as a B Corp, Zuto has built its success on trust and transparency, already helping more than 450,000 people in the U.K. find the right car finance for their needs. The company achieved revenues of £75 million and EBITDA of £12.5 million in the last financial year (June 2025), demonstrating the strength of the model and its ability to scale. This momentum has continued into the new financial year, with Q1 revenues growing more than 30% year over year.
The investment demonstrates confidence in Zuto’s market leadership and long-term growth potential, as it continues to disrupt the £30 billion U.K. car finance market. Zuto combines technology and a customer-first mindset to bring simplicity and integrity to the car finance experience, with rising consumer preference for researching finance options online further fuelling its growth.
Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive corporate finance advisor to Bridgepoint. This transaction demonstrates our continued momentum in digital distribution and marketplace transactions. Other notable transactions include advising on Flagstone’s minority sale to Estancia Capital Partners, the sale of Atec Group to Perwyn, the sale of Bionic to OMERS, the sale of Nexus Vehicle Rental to Equistone, the sale of Penguin Portals (including Confused.com) to RVU, and Carlyle’s acquisition of Evolution Funding.