Cazoo acquisition continues expansion strategy

Cazoo has announced that it has agreed to acquire Vans365 as part of a wider strategy to expand its online retail proposition to include commercial vehicles.

Based in Bristol, Vans365 is an independent online commercial vehicle retailer, buying and selling hundreds of vans monthly.

The deal will combine Cazoo’s online retail platform and brand with Vans365’s expertise and relationships in the commercial vehicle market and will enhance Cazoo’s customer offering and accelerate its planned launch into buying and selling commercial vehicles online later this year.

Cazoo will acquire Vans365, which will have 2021 revenues of about £14m for £6.5m in cash. The transaction is subject to FCA approval, anticipated in the coming weeks.

Alex Chesterman OBE, founder and CEO of Cazoo said: “The market for commercial vehicles is worth £16bn annually, with over one million vans sold each year in the UK, which expands our addressable market and is a natural product extension for us. The acquisition of Vans365 will accelerate our planned launch of buying and selling commercial vehicles online later this year and will enhance both our customer proposition and team and I look forward to welcoming the Vans365 team to Cazoo.”

Jordan Franklin, managing director of Vans365 said: “Like Cazoo, customer obsession is at the heart of Vans365’s success and we’re delighted to be joining the Cazoo team to take our online proposition to the next level. We have built strong supply relationships and achieved excellent customer feedback with a great team who have strong sector expertise and are looking forward to joining forces with Cazoo.”