Cazoo, the UK-based online car retailer that made a big move into sports sponsorship after launching in 2018, has gone into administration.
Administrators at management consulting company Teneo have been appointed to find a buyer for Cazoo’s remaining assets, including its online marketplace.
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The business, which was founded by Alex Chesterman, was once valued at £6.3 billion ($8 billion).
Cazoo’s collapse comes just two years after the retailer listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021.
The company signed several sports sponsorship deals to promote its brand, including front-of-shirt deals with soccer clubs Aston Villa and Everton in the English Premier League, Real Sociedad and Valencia in Spain, and Lille and Marseille in France.
It also agreed partnerships in horse racing, darts, snooker, and cricket.
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By GlobalDataHowever, in 2022 Cazoo shut down its European business and cut 750 jobs. To preserve cash and stem its heavy losses, it opted to solely operate in the UK and ended its sponsorship deals with European clubs.
In recent years, the company has exited most of its sponsorship agreements and has focused on single events in darts and snooker.
The firm’s most recent deal was a renewal of its title sponsorship of snooker's Champion of Champions tournament for the 2023 edition last November.
In early 2023, Chesterman had stepped down as chief executive to become the company’s chair, before fully resigning in December.
The company’s demise has been steady and in March this year, Cazoo announced further restructuring, including the sale of a car repair center in Bedfordshire and customer collection centers in Birmingham and Bristol, to focus solely on its online platform. The move resulted in a further 720 job losses.
While its bosses managed to repay loans and slim down the business, they said the company was still short of the capital needed to sustain it in the long term.
The Cazoo board have now said in a US filing that it it “in the best interests of the company and its stakeholders to commence the winding up of the company.”
Cazoo’s remaining 200 employees are now at risk as administrators seek to find a buyer.
The firm is planning to hold an extraordinary meeting with shareholders on June 6 to approve the winding-up.
