Used car startup Cazoo has announced that it is to withdraw from continental Europe in order to focus on the core UK business.
The online car dealer launched operations in France and Germany in December 2021. However, it soon became apparent that operation costs were just too high, prompting a cost-cutting plan announced in June of this year. This included reducing head-count by 750 staff, ending subscription services and a sell-off of assets. The idea of withdrawing from Europe was mooted in early August, before being formally announced today.
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The firm said in a statement that it intends to ‘commence an orderly wind down of operations’ in Germany and Spain and is in consultation with its employee representatives in France and Italy.
Having doubled losses to £243m in H1 2022, the Company is now targeting cash flow breakeven by the end of 2023, at which point the company expects to still have approximately £100m of cash on its balance sheet.
After thanking colleagues impacted by the decision, CEO Alex Chesterman commented: “The strong customer demand we are seeing in the core UK business gives us high confidence in the future opportunity and the decision we have taken today to withdraw from mainland Europe ensures that our balance sheet remains strong and that we have a plan which we believe no longer requires any further external funding.”
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