11:55 am, July 14, 2021
Cazoo has opened a new £1m customer centre in Carlisle in order to offer motorists a ‘click and collect’ service.
The online car retailer bought the site in Cumbria earlier this year and today (July 14) the doors were opened to the public.
The new premises has seen the creation of 15 new customer-facing and vehicle-servicing jobs and is the 18th location opened by Cazoo in the past ten months.
The firm is also planning to open a further seven locations before the end of the year, providing customers with a ‘click and collect’ option in addition to home delivery.
It is the latest in a series of moves aimed at increasing the company’s profile.
The firm has sports sponsorship deals with the likes of Matchroom, the Welsh Rugby Union and European Tour Golf.
Alex Chesterman, Founder & CEO of Cazoo said, ‘We have been delighted by the response of consumers to our online car buying proposition.
‘Our new Customer Centres provide more options for our customers on how they want to receive their Cazoo car and also allow us to serve them better post-sale through our own service centres.
‘We’re excited to be opening our latest site in Carlisle as we continue our mission to provide the best car buying experience to consumers across the UK.’
Cazoo timeline
Click on the date to read the full story
June 2021– Cazoo agrees new improved deal with Matchroom Sport
June 2021 – Cazoo agrees new sponsorship deal with European Tour golf
June 2021 – Cazoo becomes main shirt sponsor sponsor of Welsh Rugby Union
June 2021 – Cazoo officially replaces Drover by launching new car subscription service
May 2021 – Daily Mail owner reveals it could make nearly £1bn from Cazoo investment
May 2021 – Cazoo’s filings show it only made £143 per used car in first quarter
May 2021 – Cazoo boss Alex Chesterman new entry on Sunday Times Rich List with £750m fortune
May 2021 – Cazoo trumpets 25,000 sales of used cars in under 18 months since launch
May 2021 – Former Lib Dem MP Luciana Berger appointed to the Cazoo board
April 2o21 – Cazoo becomes headline sponsor of St Leger Stakes and appoints solicitor Moni Mannings to its board
April 2021 – Dealer appoints Anne Wojcicki of 23andMe to its board
Apr 2021 – Cazoo becomes headline sponsor of Derby Festival
Mar 2021 – Cazoo takes swipe at car dealers branding them ‘untrusted’ and ‘permanently impaired’ in investor pack
Mar 2021 – Cazoo confirms plans to list on the NYSE via a merger with Ajax, a special purpose acquisition company.
Feb 2021 – Cazoo acquires German subscription service Cluno and plots European expansion. As part of the deal it says it will be moving its HQ to Germany.
Feb 2021 – Reports suggest Cazoo founder Alex Chesterman cashed out £100m of shares in the last round of fundraising which was announced in October 2020. Firm refuses to comment.
Feb 2021 – Rumours surface that Cazoo is planning a stock market flotation in New York at a potential valuation of £5bn. The figures baffle industry experts.
Feb 2021 – Cazoo snaps up Smart Fleet Solutions, a vehicle reconditioning and storage specialist which operates from four sites and has 500 staff.
Dec 2020 – Cazoo buys car subscription service Drover for an undisclosed sum with a plan to offer subscriptions to the used cars on its platform.
Nov 2020 – Founder Alex Chesterman takes a swipe at car dealers saying the current sales model is ‘flawed at every level’ in an interview with The Times.
Oct 2020 – Cazoo posts £19m loss for first year of business according to accounts filed at Companies House.
Oct 2020 – Cazoo announces a further £240m in funding taking the total raised to £450m at a valuation of £2bn for the online retailer.
Sep 2020 – Cazoo accused of online-only U-turn as it begins turning former Imperial sites into ‘Customer Centres’ and plans many more around the country.
Jul 2020 – Car Dealer breaks the story Cazoo is about to buy Imperial Car Supermarkets. A day after our story breaks, the firm reveals the deal has been done.
Jun 2020 – Cazoo signs deal to become shirt sponsors of Everton in a deal rumoured to be worth nearly £10m. It soon follows it up with a similar deal with Aston Villa.
Mar 2020 – Cazoo announces another £100m in funding, taking the total raised to £180m. DMG Ventures, the venture capital arm of the Daily Mail, piles in as part of the fundraising.
Feb 2020 – Leaked Cazoo investor pack reveals used car dealer plans to sell 217,000 used cars a year by 2025. Predicts it will lose £70m in first three years.
Dec 2019 – Cazoo launches and announces a total of £80m in funding from venture capitalists General Catalyst and Mubadala Capital.
