Cazoo to close European operations

Online car retailer Cazoo has announced it will withdraw from the continent of Europe and focus exclusively on its UK operations.

This follows a strategic review of its EU business, which found supporting operations in Europe would require too much further investment.

As a result, it intends to commence an orderly wind down of its operations in Germany and Spain and is in consultation with its employee representatives in France and Italy.

Withdrawal from these markets is expected to be completed by 2023, with cash savings of over £100m net.

Alex Chesterman OBE, founder and CEO, said: “Given our target of reaching profitability by the end of next year, we have taken the tough decision to focus solely on the huge UK used car market, worth over £100bn annually. I would like to thank all our colleagues in the EU who are impacted by this decision, and we will of course look to support them in every way possible.

“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.”