Cazoo Becomes European Company of Consequence in Rapid Time

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Cazoo Becomes European Company of Consequence in Rapid Time

Written by

Andreas Weiskam

Partner

Published

August 27, 2021

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Cazoo Becomes European Company of Consequence in Rapid Time

Today is an exciting day here at Sapphire. We’re thrilled to congratulate Cazoo on its public listing on the NYSE (NYSE: CZOO), and becoming a European company of consequence in rapid time!

Cazoo, which has fundamentally changed the way cars are purchased by enabling European consumers to select from thousands of cars online, purchase their vehicles and arrange delivery to their homes in 72 hours, has achieved a major milestone in becoming a publicly traded company.

This marks the 4th public listing in Sapphire’s European and Israeli portfolio this summer, which we believe is a testament to the immense talent and ambition of the entrepreneurs in the ecosystem.

Alex Chesterman, founder and CEO of Cazoo, embodies that high level of determination that we look for in an entrepreneur necessary to execute flawlessly and recruit a talented team. With Cazoo, Alex, a well-known serial entrepreneur, has once again shown his unique ability to spot changing consumer trends in large markets and has been able to drive execution on those opportunities. What’s more is that Alex and his team have built a high performing company in rapid time. In less than three years since founding Cazoo and less than two years since launching the business, Cazoo is now a public company!

Since we partnered with Alex and the Cazoo team last fall, we have continuously been impressed by the team’s ability to scale operations and swiftly execute on their goals. Highlights include:

3 acquisitions
4 new customer centres
The launch of an all-inclusive monthly car subscription service in the U.K.
Kicked off expansion into Germany and France
Strong business performance across revenues and margin profile

And on top of that, Cazoo added five experienced independent board members to help lead the company in the public markets.

We feel incredibly humbled and proud to partner with Alex and the team to-date, and are looking forward to this next chapter in their journey. We know that this is just the beginning for Cazoo, and are excited to see what they achieve next as a public company!

Legal disclaimer

Disclaimer: Nothing presented within this article is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”). Information provided reflects Sapphires’ views as of a time, whereby such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. Nothing contained in this article may be relied upon as a guarantee or assurance as to the future success of any particular company. Companies mentioned in this article are a representative sample of portfolio companies in which Sapphire has invested in which the author believes such companies fit the objective criteria stated in commentary, which do not reflect all investments made by Sapphire. A complete alphabetical list of Sapphires’ investments made by its direct growth and sports investing strategies is available here. Various content and views contained within this article represent those of third party guests, which do not necessarily reflect the views of Sapphire. Such views are subject to change at any point and do not in any way represent official statements by Sapphire. While the Sapphire has used reasonable efforts to obtain information from reliable sources, we make no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of third-party information presented herein, which is subject to change. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

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