Zoopla founder’s used car sales app Cazoo calls in administrators

Online car seller Cazoo has gone into administration, three years after it listed on the New York Stock Exchange with a valuation of £5 billion ($6.3 billion) The company, which was launched in 2018 by Zoopla founder and serial entrepreneur Alex Chesterman, has cut 728 jobs since the start of March after launching dramatic cost-cutting efforts in an effort to stay afloat. However it has now appointed administrators from Teneo, who will seek to sell off Cazoo‘s remaining marketplace business. After the company’s launch it grew rapidly, but reported significant losses in recent years as it invested heavily in marketing and sponsorships, such as sponsor deals with Aston Villa and Everton football clubs. Last year, Cazoo cut hundreds of jobs and axed its used car markets in the European Union amid efforts to improve its finances. And in March the company launched its dramatic restructuring and has since sold its entire vehicle inventory and transitioned into a pure marketplace platform similar to Auto Trader, for people looking to buy and sell cars. The process saw it sell a number of repair centres and customer collection centres to Constellation Group, the rival firm behind Cinch and WeBuyAnyCar. It also sold its...

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