Zoopla founder’s business ‘on brink of collapse’
Alex Chesterman's online secondhand car-selling enterprise, Cazoo, is reported to be close to going bust.
Zoopla founder Alex Chesterman’s Cazoo business is reported to be on the brink of going bust.
Fresh from sponsoring the World Snooker Championships, Welsh rugby, the Epsom Derby and a plethora of other trophy sporting events, Cazoo is said to be about to fall into administration.
Shares fall 90%
The firm which specialises in selling used cars and vans has filed for protection from its creditors to avoid full insolvency, The Times reports. Also reported in The Times Chesterman sold shares worth £100m to “make room for new later-stage investors”, such as BlackRock and D1 in September 2020, so doesn’t walk away empty handed.
Subsequently, it listed on the New York Stock Exchange with a valuation of $7 billion in 2021, but its shares have fallen more than 90% in the last year, with losses running at a reported at over £700m.
End-game
In 2018, Chesterman (main picture) stepped down from his position as CEO of Zoopla parent company ZPG following its purchase by US equity firm Silver Lake Partners.
That was the end-game of Chesterman’s ZPG journey, which kicked off in 2007 when, armed with several million pounds he had earned from the sale of DVD movie business Love Film, he set out to create a No.2 in the portal market.
Zoopla was floated on the Stock Exchange for £1 billion in 2014, and is now of course established as the main rival to Rightmove.
Went bust
Although Chesterman had previously done well from his financial backing of Love Film, Zoopla and Cazoo, not everything the 54-year-old touches turns to gold.
A home petrol and diesel firm he backed called Zebra Fuel went bust in 2019.
Three years ago, Chesterman made a large investment in DIY and interiors platform Lick.
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