9:10 am, November 13, 2023
Cazoo is getting back into sports sponsorship after dropping deals as it tried to sort out its money problems.
The online used car retailer has become the main sponsor of the Champion of Champions event at Bolton’s Toughsheet Community Stadium, which begins today and runs until November 19.
The deal is for an unspecified sum but the tournament will bring together 16 champions from the past year and see snooker’s biggest stars, including Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump, with Cazoo’s logo on their clothing.
Cazoo branding will also be prominent on the main set and interview and media conference backdrops, while the Matchroom Multi Sport-promoted tournament itself will be shown on ITV4 and broadcasters around the world.
A Cazoo spokesperson said: ‘We’re delighted to be partnering with Matchroom Multi Sport to support the Champion of Champions tournament and to see the world’s best snooker players battle it out in Bolton.
‘This deal will help to further grow our audience as we continue to build Cazoo as a household brand by reinventing the used car buying experience.’
Cazoo was founded in 2018 by Alex Chesterman and says it has sold more than 140,000 cars since December 2019.
However, it’s faced serious money problems and has been ditching sports sponsorships that it once eagerly took up, including pumping money into Aston Villa as well as Everton.
The Aston Villa and Everton deals were perhaps the most high-profile, but the company expanded into several other sports in recent years, including the World Snooker Championship.
The used car dealer has been cutting jobs and sites this year, and in September agreed a $630m debt-for-equity swap in a bid to ease its money problems.
Main image: Alamy stock photo via PA
