6:48 am, March 11, 2025
The former boss of failed used car dealer Cazoo has been rehired by Zoopla.
The online property portal has announced that Paul Whitehead is returning and will now lead the business after he left as chief strategy officer in 2018.
He said he was ‘delighted to return to Zoopla’ having spent the past three months advising the company’s shareholders.
Whitehead left Cazoo in April last year, shortly before it collapsed into administration.
The online marketplace, through which people bought and sold cars, had launched a drastic restructuring which saw it shed hundreds of jobs.
Cazoo was founded in the UK in 2018 by Alex Chesterman – who is also the founder of Zoopla – and was once valued at around £5bn.
At the time of his departure, Whitehead said he was ‘proud’ of Cazoo’s achievements.
On leaving Cazoo in April 2024, Paul Whitehead said he was ‘proud’ of the company’s achievements
Writing on LinkedIn in April 2024, he said: ‘Since starting Cazoo from a sheet of paper a little over five years ago, it’s been an incredible journey and it’s been an absolute privilege to lead an amazingly talented team of 5,000 people at its peak, across the UK and Europe.’
In the post he added: ‘Looking back, we have accomplished so much, made mistakes along the way for sure but learnt a lot at the same time. I am incredibly proud of what we achieved together.
The brand was bought in June last year by Motors, which relaunched the website and app.
Zoopla, which is the second-largest property portal behind market leader Rightmove, said the new appointment comes at a time for growth for the business.
Commenting on his new role at Zoopla, Whitehead said: ‘My focus is on building upon the clear competitive advantage that Zoopla has in delivering high-quality buyers and vendors to our customers.’
