 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| NYSE: CZOO | |
| Industry | |
| Founded | 2018 |
| Founders | Alex Chesterman |
| Headquarters | , United Kingdom |
Key people | |
Number of employees | 1,000 |
| Website | cazoo |
Cazoo is a British online car retailer based in London, England. It was founded in 2018 by Alex Chesterman but went into administration in May 2024.
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 2022, 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 sponsored the Welsh Rugby Union, [7] a number of annual horse races in Epsom and Doncaster, [8] cricket tournament The Hundred, [9] various events managed by the World Snooker Tour, [10] and the PGA European Tour. [11] 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 Aston Villa, Olympique de Marseille, SC Freiburg, Valencia CF, Lille OSC, Bologna FC and Real Sociedad were being wound down. [12]
The Masters is a professional invitational snooker tournament. Held every year since 1975, it is the second-longest-running professional snooker tournament after the World Championship. It is one of the three Triple Crown events, along with the UK Championship and the World Championship. Although not a ranking event, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious tournaments on the World Snooker Tour. The reigning champion is Ronnie O'Sullivan, who won his eighth Masters title in 2024, defeating Ali Carter 10–7.
The English Open was a professional golf tournament held in England. First played in 1988, it was an annual event on the European Tour until 2002. After several aborted attempts at reviving the tournament, it returned to the tour schedule in 2021, when it was titled as the Cazoo Classic.
Constellation Automotive Group is a used vehicle marketplace. It was founded in the United Kingdom in 1946, as Southern Counties Car Auctions, and was a publicly traded company, BCA Marketplace, when acquired and taken private by TDR Capital in November 2019. TDR rebranded it to the current name in October 2020.
Houseful is a British residential property software, data, and insight company based in London, England, owned by Silver Lake Partners.
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Stoneacre Motor Group is a car dealership group based in the United Kingdom, having been established in December 1994.
Carwow is an online marketplace for buying and selling cars. It uses the reverse marketplace model to remove the need for customers to negotiate with dealers when buying or selling their cars. When buying a new car, users choose the car they would like to buy, along with the various specifications and features, and then receive offers directly from dealers. When selling a car, users upload some basic details about their car, after which different car dealers are invited to bid to buy the car directly from them. It also provides information to prospective purchasers and gives feedback on rogue dealers. The company has a YouTube page, run by motor journalist and Carwow's Chief Content Officer Mat Watson, where different cars are reviewed.
Tile Mountain is a company based in Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom that retails tiles commonly used in home decor. The company is notable for creating a multitude of jobs in Stoke-on-Trent following the sale of Longton-based Tile Giant for £12 million in 2007. Tile Mountain's business model includes online sales and providing product samples before large orders. Its products are local as well as from various parts of the globe. Tile Mountain currently has stock including tools, trims, Mapei adhesives and underfloor heating, ceramic and natural stone tiles.
Alexander Edward Chesterman is a British Internet entrepreneur, co-founder of ScreenSelect, which later became part of online film distributor LoveFilm, and is the founder and former CEO of online used car platform Cazoo.
The World Grand Prix is a professional ranking snooker tournament restricted to the top 32 players on the one-year ranking list. The inaugural edition was played in 2015 at the Venue Cymru in Llandudno, Wales. The reigning champion is Ronnie O'Sullivan.
Motorsport Network is an American media and technology company headquartered in Miami, Florida and London, UK. The company's proprietary brands, websites and OTT operations focus on motor racing and consumer automotive content serving and presenting content to audiences worldwide. The privately held business was founded in 2015 with the acquisition of Motorsport.com and now operates international digital, videogame, print, e-commerce & event businesses.
The Tour Championship is a professional snooker tournament first held in 2019. The event features the twelve highest ranked players on the one-year ranking list, which reflects prize money won at ranking events since the beginning of the season. The Tour Championship is the third and final tournament in the Players Series, following the World Grand Prix and the Players Championship. The event features a prize fund of £380,000, with the winner receiving £150,000. The tournament is broadcast by ITV Sport in the United Kingdom and Eurosport across the rest of Europe. The reigning champion is Mark Williams, who won the 2024 Tour Championship with a 10–5 win over Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final.
Drover was a London-based company providing vehicle subscriptions.
Acton Capital is an international venture capital fund, founded in Munich (Germany) and investing in tech-enabled startup companies in Europe and North America.
Motorway is an online-only used car marketplace based in the UK. It uses a selling platform to allow users to sell their car to dealers. Motorway is based in London and Brighton in the UK.
The Players Series is a bonus competition for players who have earned the most money in a series of professional snooker tournaments. The series involves three events: the World Grand Prix, Players Championship and Tour Championship. It was established in 2019.
The 2021 Tour Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 22 to 28 March 2021 at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales. Organised by the World Snooker Tour, it was the third edition of the Tour Championship and the third and final event of the third season of the Cazoo Cup. It was the 14th and penultimate ranking event of the 2020–21 snooker season, following the conclusion of the WST Pro Series and preceding the World Championship.
The 2022 Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place from 9 to 16 January 2022 at Alexandra Palace in London, England. It was the 48th staging of the Masters tournament, which was first held in 1975, and the second of three Triple Crown events in the 2021–22 snooker season, following the 2021 UK Championship and preceding the 2022 World Snooker Championship. Broadcast by the BBC and Eurosport in Europe, it was sponsored for the first time by car retailer Cazoo.
The 2021 UK Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 23 November to 5 December 2021 at the York Barbican, in York, England. The event was the first Triple Crown and fifth ranking event of the 2021–22 snooker season. The tournament featured a prize fund of £1,009,000, with the winner receiving £200,000. It was sponsored by car retail company Cazoo and broadcast in the UK by the BBC and Eurosport.
The 2022 Tour Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 28 March to 3 April 2022 at Venue Cymru in Llandudno, Wales. Organised by the World Snooker Tour, it comprised the top eight players on the one-year ranking list. It was the fourth edition of the Tour Championship, first held in 2019, and the 15th and penultimate ranking event of the 2021–22 snooker season, following the Gibraltar Open and preceding the World Championship. It was the third and final event of the season's Cazoo Series, following the Players Championship and the World Grand Prix. Broadcast by ITV4 in the United Kingdom, the event featured a prize fund of £370,000, of which the winner received £150,000.