Cazoo
 | |
| Company type | Private Company |
|---|---|
| Industry | |
| Founded | 2018 |
| Founder | Alex Chesterman |
| Headquarters | , United Kingdom |
Key people | |
| Owner | o3 Industries and Novum Capital |
Number of employees | 250 |
| Website | cazoo |
Cazoo is a British automotive online marketplace and classified advertising business based in Richmond, London. It was founded in 2018 and launched a used car marketplace in December 2019. Though based in the UK, it briefly expanded into European markets between 2021 and 2022. After shuttering a network of physical showrooms, the company went into administration in 2024, with its assets divided among three buyers. The Cazoo brand was relaunched by Motors, a used car marketplace.
History
[edit]Cazoo Group
[edit]Cazoo was founded in 2018 by British internet entrepreneur Alex Chesterman. It launched an online marketplace for used cars in December 2019, which became its primary business.[1]
It is based in the UK but listed on the New York Stock Exchange following a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, led by hedge fund manager Dan Och in August 2021. As of its listing the company had a valuation of US$8 billion. It subsequently lost over 97% of its market value, causing Alex Chesterman to step down as CEO in January 2023.[2]
In 2021 Cazoo had expanded internationally, launching used car marketplaces in Germany and France, and in early 2022 expanded briefly into Italy and Spain.[3] After announcing redundancies in the UK in June 2022, in September, Cazoo announced it would abandon its business in the European Union, closing its operations in France, Germany, Italy and Spain and making all 750 of its EU employees redundant, leaving only its UK operation in business.[4]
UK redundancies were announced in March 2023 when 15 out of 22 showrooms were closed.[5] A year later, in March 2024, the company stopped buying and selling cars and closed its remaining showrooms, aiming to become purely an online market place; the move meant 728 redundancies.
On 21 May 2024, Cazoo went into administration putting 208 remaining jobs at risk of redundancy.[6] Cazoo's wholesale business was bought by G3; Constellation Automotive Group also acquired some Cazoo assets; and used-car platform Motors was reported in June 2024 to be buying Cazoo's brand and marketplace business.[7]
Under Motors
[edit]Motors announced the acquisition of Cazoo on 28 June 2024[8] and relaunched the Cazoo brand under a new app in July 2024. Cazoo's website was temporarily redirected to Motors while a new website on the company's backend was constructed.[9]
Sponsorship
[edit]Cazoo sponsored the Welsh Rugby Union,[10] a number of annual horse races in Epsom and Doncaster,[11] cricket tournament The Hundred,[12] various events managed by the World Snooker Tour,[13] the Professional Darts Corporation,[14] and the PGA European Tour.[15]
Consequent on the company's announced retrenchment to the UK market in September 2022, Cazoo's sponsorships of European football clubs for the 2022–23 season, including Everton F.C., Aston Villa, Olympique de Marseille, SC Freiburg, Valencia CF, Lille OSC, Bologna FC and Real Sociedad were being wound down.[16]
References
[edit]- ^ Browne, Ryan (2 October 2020). "UK start-up Cazoo doubles valuation to $2.6 billion as car sales shift online amid pandemic". CNBC.
- ^ Mustoe, Howard (2023-01-18). "Cazoo founder steps down after 97pc collapse in value". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
- ^ "Cazoo Launches in Spain". Business Wire. 12 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- ^ Jolly, Jasper (8 September 2022). "Cazoo to abandon business operations in EU and cut 750 jobs". The Guardian.
- ^ Sharpe, Tom (7 March 2023). "Cazoo axes 15 customer centres from website as closures get the go-ahead". AM-Online. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ Race, Michael (21 May 2024). "Online car retailer Cazoo enters administration". BBC News. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ Kleinman, Mark (9 June 2024). "Motors.co.uk lines up deal to buy stricken car marketplace Cazoo". Sky News. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
- ^ Bowman, John (2024-06-28). "MOTORS launches Cazoo app to expand online car marketplace integration". Car Dealer Magazine. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
- ^ Sharma, Soumya (2024-07-12). "Motors launches Cazoo app to expand online car marketplace integration". Motor Finance Online. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
- ^ "Cazoo becomes principal partner of WRU - Welsh Rugby Union". 3 June 2021.
- ^ "Cazoo is the new headline sponsor for classic St Leger Stakes horse race in Doncaster". Doncaster Free Press. ISSN 0962-872X. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
- ^ "Cazoo named Principal Partner of the Hundred".
- ^ "Cazoo launches partnership with World Snooker Tour". Cazoo. 2 February 2021.
- ^ "Cazoo become World Darts Championship sponsors in new multi-event deal". Professional Darts Corporation. 10 January 2022.
- ^ Jackson, Keith (8 June 2021). "European Tour announces multi-year sponsorship deal with Cazoo". Sky Sports. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ "Marseille and Real Sociedad to lose Cazoo deals with brand winding down European sponsorships". 9 September 2022.