Cazoo, one of Europe’s leading online car retailers, announced in a Wednesday (Jan. 26) press release that it will be acquiring Italian online used car retailer and subscription platform brumbrum for 80 million euros (about $90 million).
Founded in 2016, the Milan-based company offers hundreds of cars for purchase, finance or subscription across the country, and its vehicle preparation site in Reggio Emilia has the capacity to refurbish 15,000-plus cars annually.
The acquisition, expected to be completed in the next few days, will accelerate Cazoo’s plans to fully launch its service across Italy, the fourth-largest used car market in Europe by both volume and value, by mid-2022.
Commenting on the deal, Cazoo Founder and CEO Alex Chesterman said in the release the United Kingdom-based retailer is “expanding into key European markets at a faster pace than anticipated and this acquisition will accelerate our launch plans in Italy so that we can deliver better selection, value, quality and convenience to consumers when buying or subscribing to their next car in Italy.”
Launched in 2019, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)-listed firm is a pioneer in the digital car purchase space and one of the fastest growing businesses in Europe, with a 3,800-plus workforce across the U.K., France, Germany, Spain and Portugal.
To date, the used car marketplace has sold over 50,000 cars via its online platform as consumers embrace the convenience of buying and selling used cars online amid a pandemic-induced surge in online car purchases.
The acquisition of brumbrum comes on the heels of recent launches in France and Germany, after Cazoo made its first step toward European expansion with the purchase of Germany’s leading car subscription service, Cluno, in February last year.
Read more: UK’s Cazoo Launches in France and Germany, Intensifies Competition in Europe’s Used Car Market
And as of last month, the company said it already had “hundreds of cars” available in the two European countries.
Prior to the December launches in France and Germany, the online car retailer acquired Barcelona-headquartered motor vehicle subscription platform Swipcar for 30 million euros (about $34 million) in November, accelerating Cazoo’s move to enter Swipcar’s Spain, Italy and Portugal markets.
See more: Cazoo Snaps up Swipcar for €30M to Hit the Gas on Growing Across Europe
The company has also made moves to cement its leadership position in the local U.K. market, embarking on a series of acquisitions last year after the purchase of U.K.-based car subscription service Drover in December 2020.
Read also: Acquisitions Fuel Growth Across Europe’s Used Vehicle Market
In September, the firm acquired U.K.-based data insights platforms, Cazana, and SMH Fleet Solutions (SMH), one of the U.K.’s leading vehicle preparation, logistics and storage businesses.
See more: Car Retailer Cazoo Acquires SMH Fleet Solutions
Cazoo then expanded its retail offering to include commercial vehicles, acquiring Bristol-based online van retailer, Van365, a leading independent online commercial vehicle retailer in the UK.
Read more: Cazoo Expands to Commercial Vehicles With Vans365 Acquisition
That same month, the company announced a record performance for its first half (H1) 2021 financial results driven by the pandemic, with over 20,000 in car sales and a 521% year-on-year increase in revenue to hit 248 million British pounds (about $335 million).
See also: UK Online Car Retailer Cazoo Projects $1B in Revenue by the End of 2021
Building on its presence in each of the five largest used car markets in Europe, the company now plans to add new features to its Europe proposition like buying cars directly from consumers, car financing and all-inclusive monthly car subscriptions.
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