Cazoo brand bought by second-hand car platform Motors
- Motors said it wanted to create “a fresh approach to car discovery”
- Private equity groups O3 Industries and Novum Capita bought Motors in 2021
Vehicle search platform Motors has bought the Cazoo brand for an undisclosed sum after the used car operator went bankrupt last month.
The online classifieds marketplace said on Friday it would launch a new Cazoo app in the coming weeks, followed by a website with more than 250,000 used vehicle listings.
Motors said it wanted to create “a fresh approach to car search” and attract a wider range of car buyers with the acquisition.
However, the buyer only acquired the Cazoo brand, not the entire company.
Acquisition: Vehicle search platform Motors has acquired Cazoo for an undisclosed amount
The company, formerly Motors.co.uk, was founded in 2007 by MailOnline’s parent company, the Ny Breaking & General Trust, as a website for car buyers. Three years later it was sold to Cox Automotive.
Silicon Valley giant eBay bought Motors in 2019 and sold the company, along with Gumtree UK, to private equity firms O3 Industries and Novum Capita two years later.
Motors CEO Barry Judge said: “We have the expertise and inventory to immediately transform the new Cazoo location into a modern used car marketplace.
“We will build on the excitement and engagement the Cazoo brand has already created among consumers to drive more sales demand for our dealer partners.”
Cazoo was founded in 2018 by Alex Chesterman, founder of Zoopla and LoveFilm. He based his business on Carvana, the US retailer known for its glass-towered vending machines that house cars.
The group’s sales soared after pandemic-related restrictions temporarily closed car dealerships, prompting more consumers to buy cars exclusively online.
The growth was further fueled by a shortage of microchips, which hampered production and increased the cost of used vehicles.
It became the fastest British company to achieve unicorn status, listing on the New York Stock Exchange three years ago with a valuation of £6 billion.
However, Cazoo suffered huge losses, with losses of £550 million in 2021 and £704 million in 2022. The company was forced to lay off large numbers of people and close its operations in Europe.
The problems were compounded by pressure on consumer costs of living and the group’s huge spending on sponsoring sports teams and organisations, such as Aston Villa and Everton football clubs, and the Snooker World Cup.
Chesterman stepped down as CEO early last year to become chairman, and left the company for good in December.
In March, the group announced it would sell its used car inventory and transition to a car marketplace, where consumers can trade cars under a single brand.
Cazoo brought in administrators two months later, having cut hundreds of jobs as part of this transformation and sold its entire vehicle inventory.