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Powersports Business • November 2023 • 11

VERO TECHNOLOGIES RAISES $ 8.5M SERIES A ROUND FOR WHOLESALE FINANCING

Vero Technologies , a wholesale financing technology and loan servicing platform , has announced the close of its $ 8.5M Series A funding round . Led by venture capital fund BankTech Ventures , Vero received significant investment from Sopra Steria Ventures and other notable fintech investors , including Arcadia Funds , Antler , AAF Management , and the Independent Community Bankers of America .

Vero says it will use the capital to accelerate the growth of its lending-as-aservice ( LAAS ) offering , giving banks a digital solution for the financial processes that stand in the way of their expansion in the wholesale financing space .

The platform leverages open banking technology to offer end-to-end loan lifecycle management to its current user base of community and regional banks across the country , according to Vero . Its capabilities

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span everything from underwriting , loan servicing and digital auditing to real-time inventory , risk management and financial analytics . As a result , banks can profitably introduce wholesale financing while providing dealers with lower-cost funds and enhanced operational efficiencies . The platform also includes dealer and supplier-facing tools to eliminate unnecessary manual interactions .

“ We ’ ve been fortunate to build a viable product and achieve initial market penetration with minimal funding to date . Now , as we set out to expand , we ’ re pleased to do so in partnership with BankTech Ventures , Sopra Steria Ventures and other strategic investors who share our vision of providing

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banks with a bespoke solution for wholesale finance ,” says John Mizzi , CEO of Vero Technologies . “ This investment will enable us to build our growing footprint with community and regional banks across the country and enhance our platform ’ s capabilities .”

For dealers and manufacturers with limited options for wholesale financing , Vero Technologies says its solution represents a differentiated value proposition .

Through Vero , dealers now have access to lower-cost funds through their preferred financial services partners , ensuring that dealers can consolidate their financial resources and drive business growth . “ We are excited to lead the Series A funding round for Vero ,” says Carey Ransom , managing director of BankTech Ventures . “ Their commitment to driving innovation within community banking aligns perfectly with BankTech ’ s mission to expand community bank capabilities . We believe Vero has tremendous potential to transform the inventory financing landscape and create significant value for dealers and lenders alike .”

Vero Technologies and Sopra Banking Software ( part of the Sopra Steria Group ), are working on a commercial partnership that will make Vero ’ s technology available to the wider wholesale finance market with similar large-scale financing ambitions , according to a statement from the company .

also increasing flooring expenses , which we haven ’ t seen for the last several years . Many are starting to sacrifice margins to move that inventory to clear out their floor and reduce their flooring expenses .”

As for what the future may hold , Woodruff believes electric powersports vehicles coming to the market will be a good thing and may be a new growth driver down the road for those consumers who were reluctant to ride a gas-powered motorcycle or ATV .

Keefe says that NPA ’ s auctions are performing similarly across the board as far as pricing is concerned , but one of the exciting things is they are getting more e-bikes and electric motorcycles . “ We ’ re getting a variety of those now coming through the doors , and dealers are buying them up .”

Keefe says that low-mileage clean products are performing very well . “ These units are performing near book , but higher mileage units are down . Most service departments are still full . A wave of inventory hit the market in the last 18 months . Service centers are still really full . All the normal stuff that needs to get serviced is still happening .” So , the service departments don ’ t have time to fix the lower condition vehicles that they used to during Covid to get vehicles on the floor .

During Covid , everybody was able to sell everything . And now , with everything adjusting back to normal , NPA is being utilized by more than just powersport companies to offload some of their overstocked inventory , says Keefe . “ Golf cars , boats , RVs , campers , fifth wheels , e-bikes , are all showing up in NPA auctions nationwide . The good news is we have a vast powersports base , but we also have golf car , marine , and RV buyers that can absorb this product . So we ’ ve had great success growing these additional segments over the last six months .”

What NPA stressed the most was that dealers need to know the actual value of their pre-owned inventory . Keefe says that dealers should use the NPA Value Guide , NADA , Blackbook , or whatever they use to keep track of the current value of their inventory and buy smart .

Sounds like smart advise to us .

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