• Price Comparison Website (PCW) disrupter, honcho, appoints CTO, moves into new Durham offices and receives FCA authorisation
• The news comes following a successful £830k crowd-funding campaign
• honcho will recruit up to 15 new employees during the next 12 months

THE UK’S first online reverse auction marketplace for financial services, honcho, which recently secured £830,000 of investment, is undergoing a new stage of growth and has received formal authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Due to launch in Autumn 2018, honcho will disrupt the commonly used – but costly – Price Comparison Websites (PCWs), by firstly allowing car insurers to bid for business from consumers, before eventually expanding into other personal finance products.

Having successfully over-funded following a CrowdCube campaign earlier this year, honcho has recently moved to new offices in Durham’s Salvus House, strengthened its senior management team with the appointment of Chief Technical Officer (CTO), Chad Crossman, and received formal FCA authorisation.

Crossman has had a successful career to date, having held CTO, CIO and IT Director positions at several corporates, and brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge during honcho’s key launch phase.

Commercial Director, Frank Speight, said: “Having Chad come on board as CTO is fantastic for us and given the nature of the honcho proposition – a pioneering digital platform offering the first reverse auction marketplace in the UK for financial services – his involvement will be absolutely essential. We are delighted to have him involved in the business ahead of the launch.”

Speaking about the FCA authorisation, Speight added: “Having FCA authorisation in place is absolutely essential ahead of the launch later this year, and will provide key partners and consumers with the assurance that they are working with a professional and credible organisation.”

The next phase of its expansion will see the business employing up to 15 new members of staff to join its growing team.

honcho is currently looking to recruit individuals to fill a number of positions in its Durham head office – including everything from product development and distribution to overseeing digital marketing.

Commenting on the expansion, Gavin Sewell, CEO, said: “We are thrilled to be entering the next phase in the development of this ground-breaking service. We are working to ensure that our launch is as successful as possible and are excited to be working with the insurance community to offer more competitive financial services quotes to consumers.

“Right now, we’re looking for individuals who embody everything that honcho is; intelligent, forward-thinking, disruptive, innovative and one of a kind. This is a fantastic time for new employees to join the company, as they will benefit from being able to launch something totally unique that will change the way consumers shop for financial services, forever, and put power, control and transparency back into their hands.”

honcho is a new mobile app that’s going to revolutionise the way people buy products and services…saving them time and money. It is the first online reverse auction marketplace for financial services.

A reverse auction is where the consumer receives bids and becomes the focus of the auction. Companies will compete against each other to win their custom, which is how we think it should be!

It’s disruptive and innovative, and will start by launching into the car insurance market in 2018.

To find out more about career opportunities at honcho, please visit: www.gethoncho.com/careers/