9:46 am, July 2, 2026
Creditors waiting on money from failed used car dealer Cazoo have been dealt a fresh blow after administrators revealed a legal challenge has put any future payouts on hold.
That is according to new documents, filed via Companies House, which show that one creditor has launched court proceedings disputing the firm’s decision on its claim.
While details remain thin on the ground, administrators Teneo say the action has forced a pause on planned payments to unsecured creditors.
The move was announced in a new administrator’s progress report, which covers the period between November 21, 2025 and May 20, 2026.
According to the report, the former Cazoo Group, which collapsed owing hundreds of millions of pounds, now has around £76m of unsecured creditor claims still to be dealt with.
According to the report, the firm – which spectacularly collapsed while owing hundreds of millions of pounds – administrators are now dealing with around £76m of remaining unsecured creditor claims.
While claims from former employees and HMRC have now been paid in full, thousands of other creditors remain in limbo.
The documents also reveal that the administrator’s costs have ballooned to an eye-watering £7.8m – around £1.8m higher than six months ago – with Teneo now seeking creditors’ approval to draw further fees above the original limits.
Who has been paid what?
Despite the delay for unsecured creditors, the report confirms that all preferential creditors have now been paid.
This includes claims from former Cazoo employees, who were paid in full, while the same can also be said for an £8m secondary preferential claim from HMRC.
In terms of money coming into Cazoo, the administrators say that several significant recoveries have helped to improve company coffers.
Among the biggest was the recovery of £2.5m from Cazoo’s former German subsidiary after administrators helped oversee its solvent wind-down. The administrators also expect to recover a further €600,000 (£513,000) once outstanding German tax refunds have been received.
Elsewhere, administrators also transferred £1.3m of customer trust funds into a segregated account ahead of future payments to eligible customers.
The report also records a £903,000 VAT refund, a further £9,000 recovered in business rates and more than £500,000 earned in interest.
It is now expected that there will be enough money to pay unsecured creditors of both Cazoo Ltd and Cazoo Holdings Ltd – now listed as CL 1 Realisations Ltd and CHL 1 Realisations Ltd respectively.
However, administrators still believe there will be insufficient funds to pay unsecured creditors of Cazoo Properties Ltd, which is now called CPL 1 Realisations Ltd.
One of the largest outstanding issues remains a restricted bank account containing more than £50.8m, including accrued interest.
The money was placed into the account as part of Cazoo’s debt restructuring before the company collapsed and remains subject to security held by bondholders.
Administrators say they are continuing to negotiate with legal advisers over releasing the funds.
How did we get here?
Overall, the three Cazoo companies crashed with a crippling £259,253,760 of unsecured debt.
Losses built up after the outfit, led by founder Alex Chesterman, ploughed millions into sports sponsorships and high-profile acquisitions.
Administrators eventually sold the Cazoo name and online marketplace to Motors for £5m and it is now operating independently as a used car advertising platform. The current trading business is unconnected to the administration of the former used car sales firm.
Car Dealer also reported in May that administrators had been granted a two-year extension to the process by the High Court, meaning the insolvency process will now last until May 2028.
In the latest report, Teneo says it does not currently expect to require any further extensions and they are continuing to work through a number of outstanding issues including unresolved creditor claims, customer trust distributions, property matters, employment tribunal claims and an undisclosed historical business disruption claim.
You can learn more about Cazoo’s rapid rise and fall here. Car Dealer also produced a special documentary about the firm, which can be watched on our YouTube channel.
