Turquoise, a UK merchant bank specialising in energy, environment and efficiency, has announced its seventh deal for the Low Carbon Innovation Fund 2 (LCIF2), a GBP330,000 investment in mobility app company SKOOT RIDE.COM Ltd (SKOOT).
SKOOT was founded in 2019 to promote and facilitate lift sharing amongst friends and colleagues. Passengers share the costs of the journey, but as the driver does not make a profit, this ensures that the driver is not subject to the regulations governing taxi services. The passenger will pay between 10% and 30% of the cost of a traditional taxi.
SKOOT’s app went live on Apple and Android in September 2020, with architecture built for scale, and current capacity to handle a million rides per hour. In addition to lift sharing, SKOOT has also built ERRANDS, a service to help friends to support each other with errands such as collecting medicine from a pharmacy or click ‘n’ collect shopping, either for free or for a GBP5 tip. The service is proving timely among those quarantined or shielding at home.
Francis Wright, managing director at Turquoise, says: “We were impressed by the SKOOT team who are already proven entrepreneurs. SKOOT has advantages of safety, cost, environmental impact and regulation compared with taxis. The platform is already built and robust and we see potential for large scale and international expansion of this innovative business.”
Greg Gormley, CEO of SKOOT, adds: “We are delighted to be joined by LCIF2 and welcome them on this exciting journey. At SKOOT we ensure all drives taken on the platform are carbon negative by planting a tree for every three journeys. SKOOT connects friends and enables them to help one another, whether by getting them somewhere or collecting something for them, all through an easy-to-use app.”
LCIF2 is funded by European Regional Development Fund, with the UK Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as the Managing Authority.
