Cazoo, one of the UK’s leading online car retailers, which makes buying a used car as simple and seamless as buying any other product online today, has announced that it has agreed to acquire Drover, a leading UK car subscription platform, for an undisclosed sum.
Founded in 2016, Drover has grown to a team of over 100 across London, Lisbon, Paris and Bucharest. Drover offers a flexible and hassle-free alternative to car ownership, with a single monthly subscription fee which includes the car, maintenance, service, road tax and breakdown cover.
The deal will combine Cazoo’s brand, platform and significant funding with Drover’s expertise and relationships in car subscription and, once integrated, will enable Cazoo to give its customers the option of purchasing, financing or subscribing to the thousands of cars on its platform.
Drover also has a nascent and fast-growing subscription business in France which will form the launchpad for Cazoo’s planned European expansion as it looks to both mirror the offering in France to the wider Cazoo proposition and push into other markets.
Already hailed as the ‘Amazon of cars’ in the UK, Cazoo (founded in 2018) had planned to launch its own subscription service in late 2021 and this acquisition will now accelerate its plans in the fast-growing Cars-as-a-Service (CaaS) market as it seeks to extend its offering to also become the Netflix of cars.
Cazoo is pioneering the shift to online car buying in the UK with consumers all around the country embracing the transparency and convenience of buying used cars entirely online. Cazoo owns and fully reconditions its cars before offering them on its website with thousands of cars in stock at any time.
Cazoo has been rapidly rolling out its Customer Centres across the UK, opening 14 new sites in the past 14 weeks and once this acquisition is integrated its subscription customers will be able to choose between having their car delivered to their door or collecting it within as little as 72 hours.
Last month saw Cazoo reach the milestone of delivering its 10,000th car since its launch a year ago and it has rapidly become one of the fastest growing UK businesses, generating revenues of over around 166 million in its first year, having grown to a team of over 800 people. Earlier this year, Cazoo also became the UK’s fastest ever unicorn, achieving a valuation of over 2.2 billion.
Alex Chesterman OBE, founder and CEO of Cazoo said: “The acquisition of Drover will enable Cazoo to rapidly expand into car subscriptions and give our customers the option of purchasing their next car outright, financing it over a multi-year period or subscribing for a shorter, more flexible period. I am looking forward to welcoming Felix and his team to Cazoo and continuing to deliver the most innovative and best options for consumers across the UK looking for their next car.”
Felix Leuschner, founder and CEO of Drover said: “I am very proud of what we have achieved with Drover in such short time. We have built a great team and developed a sizeable and loyal subscriber base with strong revenues. Alex and the team at Cazoo have a very clear strategy and vision and I am very much looking forward to accelerating the growth of car subscriptions as part of Cazoo and to continuing to develop the business beyond the UK.”
