3:32 pm, September 15, 2021
Cazoo has announced today that it’s purchased another vehicle preparation centre, this time SMH Fleet Solutions for approximately £70m.
The business will provide them with six sites across the UK capable of reconditioning vehicles, preparing them for sale, storage and delivery and 500 staff.
The sites in Bedford, Gloucester, Throckmorton, Worcester and St Helens currently process more than 70,000 vehicles annually.
This builds on its existing portfolio of prep centres Smart Fleet Solutions, which were purchased in February this year.
It now has a total of 11 sites and more than 256 acres. This latest acquisition will double its capacity and, when up and running, allow it to process hundreds of thousands of cars a year.
Alex Chesterman, founder and CEO of Cazoo, said: ‘Given strong consumer demand, the only real constraint to our future growth is ensuring that we have adequate capability to recondition, store and deliver enough cars to keep up.
‘By acquiring SMH, this helps solve that and de-risks our future growth by immediately doubling our number of vehicle preparation sites and significantly enhancing our team of vehicle preparation and logistics staff. I look forward to welcoming the SMH team to Cazoo.
‘Buying or selling a car entirely online from the comfort of your home and having it delivered or collected in a matter of days, just like any other product today, is clearly resonating with consumers and our record growth continues as they embrace the selection, value, quality and convenience of our proposition.’
Tim Hudson, CEO at SMH Fleet Solutions said: ‘We’re delighted to be joining forces with Alex and the team at Cazoo and see this as a perfect fit for SMH.
‘We have built one of the leading teams in vehicle preparation and logistics in the UK and are very well placed to support the remarkable pace of growth at Cazoo and help it deliver on its mission of providing the best car buying and selling experience in the UK.’
