Exact date major car dealership will close down for good… with seven sites and hundreds of jobs at risk within days
THE date that a major car dealership brand will close down for good has been revealed, leaving seven sites and hundreds of jobs at risk.
The franchise, which served millions of Brits, collapsed into bankruptcy last month.
The board of Cazoo Group has now confirmed when it will hold its extraordinary general meeting (EGM), where shareholders are expected to confirm the voluntary liquidation of the company.
Board members have already voted unanimously to close down the group’s parent company, which is based in the Cayman Islands, and delist from the New York Stock Exchange.
Cazoo was founded in 2018 by Alex Chesterman, who had previously created the successful property site Zoopla.
By 2020, it was a household name, particularly among sports fans, with sponsorships ranging from Aston Villa to the England cricket team.
At its height, the business employed 4,500 people and was valued at over £5 billion.
However, several years of heavy losses saw Mr Chesterton resign in 2022 and staff numbers scaled back by over half.
Administrators were called in back in May, accompanied by a further round of 720 job cuts.
There was some hope of a recovery deal for parts of the business, with Motors.co.uk linked to the company in reports in June.
Elsewhere other company assets have already sold, including some to former rivals Cinch.
However, Motors declined to comment on the reports at the time and no deal has yet materialised.
Cazoo’s EGM has now been confirmed for July 2, leaving just days for any new bidders to step in.
Shareholders are also not expected to receive much in the way of a payout, with the final value expected to be well below the current share price.
Writing to investors, Cazoo’s chief financial officer Gareth Purnell said: “The board of directors of Cazoo Group Ltd has unanimously determined that the winding up, the appointment of the voluntary liquidators, and the remuneration of the voluntary liquidators is advisable and in the best interests of the company and its stakeholders and directed that the winding up proposal be submitted to the company’s shareholders for approval.
“The board unanimously recommends that you vote “FOR” the proposal to approve the winding up, the appointment of the voluntary liquidators and the remuneration of the voluntary liquidators.
“If the winding up proposal is approved and the company is wound up, we expect that our equityholders will not receive any distributions for the company’s shares or warrants.”
It comes after SunMotors exclusively revealed that Saudi Arabian diplomats had run up a tab of £170,000 in unpaid parking fines across London.