Online car retailer Cazoo stopped selling vehicles to the public last month and today announced it has appointed Teneo as administrators
Cazoo has collapsed into administration, just weeks after it stopped selling vehicles to the public.
The move puts more than 200 jobs at risk. The online car retailer has appointed Teneo as administrators, who will now be instructed to sell its assets. Cazoo was founded in 2018 by Alex Chesterman, who also launched Zoopla, the property portal. Chesterman left the company back in December, when a major restructure saw $630million worth of debt converted to just $200million.
The company has cut 728 jobs since the start of March. Sky News reports that one industry source said BMW, Motorpoint and Car Gurus could potentially be interested in purchasing Cazoo’s marketplace, including its brand. The Cazoo business model allowed shoppers to purchase a car online before delivering the vehicle to their door in as little as 72 hours. But reports last month suggested Cazoo will become an online advertising marketplace, similar to Auto Trader and Motors.
It had once been described as the Amazon of the vehicle dealership world, and has spent tens of millions of pounds on sponsorship deals in football, snooker and darts. The company listed on Wall Street in a deal valuing it at $7billion in 2021.
Matt Mawhinney, joint administrator at Teneo, said: “Following Cazoo’s decision to pivot to a marketplace model, the group has been winding down its legacy operations and sold a substantial number of its businesses and assets. These sales have generated additional value for creditors, preserved a significant number of jobs, and ensured that leases have been transferred to new operators to mitigate losses to landlords.
“Following our appointment, we continue to progress discussions with a number of interested parties on the marketplace business and remaining customer collections centres. The marketplace model is performing ahead of expectations, with strong dealer sign-up, and the administration appointment provides us with an opportunity to secure a sale of the business over the course of coming weeks.”