Cazoo doubles reconditioning capacity

Cazoo has acquired SMH Fleet Solutions (SMH), one of the UK’s leading vehicle preparation, logistics and storage businesses.

The deal is valued £70m and will double Cazoo’s overall vehicle reconditioning, logistics and storage capabilities in the UK with 11 total sites across more than 265 acres.

SMH has a team of over 500 staff currently processing more than 70,000 vehicle refurbishments annually from six vehicle preparation sites across 136 acres in Bedford, Gloucester, Throckmorton, Worcester and St Helens.

SMH also carries out over 150,000 vehicle movements per year with a team of over 300 logistics specialists as well as operating an online wholesale platform for used cars.

Alex Chesterman OBE, founder & CEO of Cazoo said: “Given strong consumer demand, the only real constraint to our future growth is ensuring that we have adequate capability to recondition, store and deliver enough cars to keep up. By acquiring SMH, this helps solve that and de-risks our future growth by immediately doubling our number of vehicle preparation sites and significantly enhancing our team of vehicle preparation and logistics staff.”

Tim Hudson, CEO at SMH Fleet Solutions said: “We’re delighted to be joining forces with Alex and the team at Cazoo and see this as a perfect fit for SMH. We have built one of the leading teams in vehicle preparation and logistics in the UK and are very well placed to support the remarkable pace of growth at Cazoo and help it deliver on its mission of providing the best car buying and selling experience in the UK.”