Cazoo Group Ltd (CZOO)

Cazoo Group was a UK online used car retailer that let buyers browse, finance and purchase reconditioned cars on its website and have them delivered or collected at customer centers. Founded in 2018 by Alex Chesterman, it spent heavily on marketing, including football sponsorships, and on vehicle preparation sites in a bid to dominate online car sales in Britain.

Cazoo listed on the NYSE in August 2021 through a merger with Ajax Capital, a special purpose acquisition company, at a valuation of about $7 billion. The company expanded into continental Europe and into car subscriptions, but it posted large losses, including about 704 million pounds in 2022, and its shares fell steeply after the listing.

From 2022 the company retreated from mainland Europe, cut thousands of jobs and tried to restructure about $630 million of debt. Chesterman stepped down as chief executive in January 2023 and left the company entirely by the end of that year. Cazoo also later stopped selling cars directly and failed to file its 2023 accounts on time.

Unable to raise new money, Cazoo appointed administrators from Teneo on May 21, 2024. The NYSE suspended its ordinary shares immediately and said it would apply to delist them; the company did not appeal. Its market value had shrunk to about $30 million. A shareholder meeting was called for June 2024 to approve winding up the company, and the administrators sought buyers for its assets.