Europe’s leading online car retailer, Cazoo, announced on Thursday (Feb. 10) that it had sold a stake of the company to a group of investors for an amount of $630 million, nearly six months after the firm listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
The additional funds, which boosts the firm’s current cash balance to nearly $900 million, have been earmarked for the company’s ongoing expansion efforts across the United Kingdom and Europe.
Commenting on the deal, Alex Chesterman OBE, founder and CEO of Cazoo said: “We are now very well-funded for the coming years to continue to capitalize on this [huge market opportunity that we have ahead of us] and deliver the best car buying and selling experience for consumers across the U.K. and Europe.”
Read more: Cazoo Acquires Italy’s Brumbrum, Solidifies Presence in Five Largest Used Car Markets in Europe
In recent months, the U.K.-based used car marketplace has made major moves to strengthen its presence in each of the five largest used car markets in Europe: the U.K., France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
Last month, the retailer announced that it had acquired Italy’s leading online used car retailer and subscription platform, brumbrum, for 80 million euros ($90 million) to accelerate its plans to fully launch its service across Italy by mid-2022.
Read also: UK’s Cazoo Launches in France and Germany, Intensifies Competition in Europe’s Used Car Market
That acquisition came on the heels of recent launches in France and Germany, and the purchase of Barcelona-headquartered motor vehicle subscription platform Swipcar for 30 million euros ($34 million) in November 2021, a strategic move that enabled Cazoo to penetrate Swipcar’s Spain, Italy and Portugal markets.
See also: Cazoo Snaps up Swipcar for €30M to Hit the Gas on Growing Across Europe
And according to the report, the online retailer is now the market leader in consumer car subscriptions in Europe with around 10,000 active subscribers, following the launch of its fully integrated subscription service.
Growth statistics shared in today’s report show that the company sold close to 50,000 used cars in the 2021 financial year, a 230% year-on-year growth, while full-year revenue jumped more than 300% year-on-year to hit 665 million pounds ($905 million).
Learn more: Acquisitions Fuel Growth Across Europe’s Used Vehicle Market
“In 2021, our second full year of operation, we achieved record revenues, [built] a household brand that is now recognised by over 75% of the U.K. population and significant infrastructure capabilities across the U.K. and EU,” Chesterman OBE added.
Launched in 2019, the NYSE-listed firm is a pioneer in the digital car purchase space and a leader in the billion-dollar used vehicle market in the U.K. and Europe, which has seen a recent boom in digital sales triggered by the onset of the pandemic.
You might also like: UK Online Car Retailer Cazoo Projects $1B in Revenue by the End of 2021
As part of its key objectives for 2022, the British retailer is planning to fully launch in Spain and Italy later this year and solidify its business operations in France and Germany. Cazoo also has an ambitious goal to generate more than 2 billion pounds ($2.7 billion) in revenue from the sale of 100,000-plus retail units, the report noted.
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