On-line automobile seller Cazoo is starting to unload its used automobile inventory, transporters and buyer care centres because it has introduced it’ll swap to a brand new enterprise mannequin as a automobile market, competing with rivals corresponding to Auto Dealer, Motors and AA Vehicles.

A brand new chief government can be appointed – the enterprise’s third in 5 years – as present Cazoo chief government Paul Whitehead has determined to step down on the finish of this month. He’ll stay an adviser till no less than mid-Might to help the change from e-commerce operation to market.

The change of technique comes following a evaluation of Cazoo’s choices after the cash-strapped enterprise instructed the New York Inventory Trade in December that it should urgently safe extra capital earlier than the second half of 2024 whether it is to maintain afloat. It warned traders that it had “restricted liquidity” and should must make substantial changes, or doubtlessly stop operations altogether, if it fails to safe satisfactory funding.

It had already accomplished a restructuring, leading to a discount of debt from $630m to $200m. It additionally appointed a brand new board of administrators in December, and this board has determined that a pivot to “a pure-play market enterprise mannequin” is the very best route for Cazoo and all its stakeholders.

“This may leverage our key benefits: our model, which is recognisable and trusted nationwide, and our expertise platform, which offers a market main buyer expertise, and which can construct on the demand from clients and UK sellers to transact on-line,” Cazoo’s assertion mentioned.

“The adoption of a market mannequin leverages Cazoo’s market-leading e-commerce platform and the greater than £100 million funding within the Cazoo model. The model is now one of many prime 5 most recognised UK automotive manufacturers and has enabled Cazoo to promote near 160,000 retail automobiles totally on-line since 2019.

“The board believes Cazoo will convey recent alternatives for sellers within the extremely fragmented used automobile market, offering Britain’s automobile sellers with an internet platform to supply their automobiles to the a million customers on common who go to Cazoo’s web site each month.”

In addition to producing leads for dealerships that use its market, Cazoo will allow them to promote automobiles totally on-line if desired.

Like different automobile marketplaces already working within the UK, Cazoo will present buyer and market insights to the sellers that use it, and it’ll proceed to assist the motor commerce supply inventory from sellers.

Cazoo was based in 2019 by serial entrepreneur Alex Chesterman OBE with an ambition to construct an e-commerce model that disrupted the “property-heavy” motor retail sector and allowed folks to purchase automobiles totally on-line and get then delivered to their dwelling. Attracting traders, it was capable of spend enormous sums on advertising and marketing and sponsorships and an ill-fated enlargement into mainland Europe.

In 2023, earlier than he left the enterprise 9 months later, multi-millionaire Chesterman mentioned he was “extremely happy with every thing the staff at Cazoo has achieved” in a monetary outcomes assertion that exposed the web used automobile retailer’s £704 million losses for 2022.

Cazoo’s pivot to a market will go away it positioned equally to a different of Chesterman’s previous creations, the property market Zoopla, which markets homes for property brokers.

From the archives: Learn AM’s unique 2020 Cazoo launch interview with Alex Chesterman right here