A POPULAR British online car retailer once valued at more than £5billion is set to fall into administration today.
Cazoo which sponsors Aston Villa and Everton has fallen into administration with hundreds of jobs axed as a result.
Cazoo will formally appoint insolvency practitioners from Teneo after they filed to seek temporary protection from creditors, according to Sky News.
More than 700 jobs have already been lost at Cazoo, with administrators expected to retain staff to operate the remaining marketplace model – while they consider selling.
The online car retailer has drawn interest from several potential buyers.
The company’s fall into administration allows Teneo to focus on the sale.
BMW, Motorpoint and Car Gurus are among the parties reportedly interested in buying Cazoo’s marketplace.
The British motor trading company was founded in 2018 by Alex Chesterman, who also launched Zoopla, the property portal.
It debuted on the stock exchange in 2021, where investors valued it at £8billion.
Cazoo would second tens of millions of pounds securing sponsorship deals in football, snooker and darts, to rapidly grow their market share.
In recent weeks, they have sold off numerous assets, including its vehicle fleet.
This reportedly generated higher-than-anticipated revenue, which reflects the shortage of used cars in the market, according to sources.
One industry source claimed the switch to a platform model saw Cazoo’s inventory rise to more than 15,000 motors.
The online retailer was the only place where consumers could buy and sell cars under a single brand.
Alex left the business several months ago after a balance sheet restructuring saw debt worth millions of dollars converted to equity.
The entry into administration comes after a further wave of restructuring of its balance sheet and operations.
Cazoo said, in a statement last week: “Our new marketplace model, where consumers can both buy and sell cars, is revenue generating and performing ahead of expectations with interest from almost 100 car dealers including many household names wishing to trade on the Cazoo platform.
The company added that it had “successfully restructured and significantly reduced the cash burn of the group”.
It comes after a used car dealership was given 90 days to shut down and move out after complaints from neighbours.
And another major UK car dealership is closing 16 of its sites and cutting hundreds of jobs.
