12:01 pm, December 6, 2021
Used car search website Motors.co.uk and classifieds site Gumtree have been bought by family investment fund 03 Industries and private equity firm Novum Capital.
The two sites were part of eBay Classifieds Group, and the deal, for an undisclosed sum, followed the group’s £6.6bn takeover by Norwegian online classifieds specialist Adevinta in the summer.
Adevinta was forced to sell them because of competition rules, since they come under the eBay Motors Group umbrella.
As such, although they’re now no longer part of eBay, Gumtree and Motors.co.uk will continue to run eBay Motors Group under the terms of a multi-year contractual agreement that’s in place with eBay.
Matt Barham, chief executive of Motors.co.uk and Gumtree UK, told Car Dealer today (Dec 6): ‘We’re incredibly grateful to eBay, the eBay Classifieds Group and Adevinta for being part of our journey so far.
‘Looking ahead, we’re delighted to now be working with O3 and Novum Capital as we look to future growth opportunities for our Gumtree and Motors.co.uk platforms.
“In the meantime, it is business as usual for Gumtree, Motors.co.uk and the eBay Motors Group, and this will not affect customer experience in any way.
‘There will also be no changes to the eBay Motors Group or our offering, and we have a multi-year contractual agreement in place with eBay, ensuring our customers’ continued access to its audience of millions of buyers.
‘We will continue to deliver the same high standard of service as always.’
In an announcement on LinkedIn, Gumtree said: ‘We’re looking forward to working with these new partners as we focus on our plans for 2022 and beyond.
‘Our Motors.co.uk platform is designed to give everyone peace of mind when they’re looking to change their car.
‘As 2030 nears, and electric vehicles become more mainstream, Motors will be ready to provide the support, information and guidance people need on their car-buying journey.
‘We must say a big thank-you to our past investors for being part of our story so far and to our team for showing resilience, innovation and adaptability as we have dealt with the uncertainty of the sales process.
‘And, finally, [thank you] to our new owners whose expertise with digital marketing, media and data will help us create new opportunities in the year ahead.’
