Due to launch in late 2018, the Durham-based start-up will disrupt the commonly used - but costly - Price Comparison Websites (PCWs) model, by firstly allowing car insurers to bid against each other for consumers’ business, before eventually expanding into other personal finance products.

The £500m Northern Powerhouse Growth Fund was established to inject investment into businesses across the north of England and is intended for SMEs across the Northern Powerhouse region, including: established businesses with ambitious growth plans, start-ups with high growth potential, companies with early-stage equity funding and businesses focusing on innovation, R&D and technology.

The Durham-based company was founded by Gavin Sewell, CEO who lives in Northumberland and Frank Speight, commercial director who lives in North Yorkshire.
Gavin Sewell, Chief Executive honcho, said: “We’re delighted to benefit from the Barclays Northern Powerhouse Growth Fund. Barclays have always been very supportive of honcho and we’re thrilled that they’re now offering us additional support through their initiative to help SMEs in the North East.”

Michael Watson, Business Manager at Barclays, said: “We are delighted to have the financial disruptor, honcho, as a business that is receiving support from the Barclays Northern Powerhouse Fund. As a team we were incredibly impressed with honcho’s business plan. For a company, the size of honcho we were overwhelmed with not only the exceptional progress that the Durham-based company had already made in such a short amount of time and it was for this reason that we felt, the financial disruptor fit our criteria of a start-up business with high growth potential.”

“At Barclays we are delighted to help small businesses grow and expand. This is especially vital as we, as a nation, are entering a new phase of Brexit. As we prepare for this, it has never been more important for businesses and Government individuals to come together and provide schemes, like The Northern Powerhouse Fund, in order to nurture regional entrepreneurship. The funding will aim to build a strong economy, create jobs, attract and encourage additional private sector investment, help businesses seize opportunities and most importantly increase the quality of life not only in the North and Wales but across the UK.”

honcho is a 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 honcho thinks it should be!

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