Cazoo acquires SMH Fleet Solutions

Online car retailer Cazoo has bought SMH Fleet Solutions in order to expand its UK reconditioning, logistics and storage capability.

Established in 2003, SMH has a team of more than 500 staff processing in excess of 70,000 vehicle refurbishments annually from six vehicle preparation sites Bedford, Gloucester, Throckmorton, Worcester and St Helens.

SMH also carries out more than 150,000 vehicle movements per year with a team of 300 logistics specialists as well as operating an online wholesale platform for used cars.

Integration of SMH into Cazoo will double is overall vehicle reconditioning, logistics and storage capabilities in the UK, with 11 total sites across more than 265 acres, as well as providing it with an experienced team of hundreds of additional vehicle preparation and logistics specialists and its own digital wholesale platform.

Cazoo says the deal will provide it with one of the most extensive portfolios of vehicle preparation sites and production capabilities in the UK, to meet its rapid growth plans.

Once fully integrated, Cazoo will have the capacity to recondition and deliver hundreds of thousands of cars per year and store tens of thousands of cars.

Alex Chesterman OBE, founder and CEO of Cazoo, said: “Given strong consumer demand, the only real constraint to our future growth is ensuring that we have adequate capability to recondition, store and deliver enough cars to keep up. By acquiring SMH, this helps solve that and de-risks our future growth by immediately doubling our number of vehicle preparation sites and significantly enhancing our team of vehicle preparation and logistics staff. I look forward to welcoming the SMH team to Cazoo.

“Buying or selling a car entirely online from the comfort of your home and having it delivered or collected in a matter of days, just like any other product today, is clearly resonating with consumers and our record growth continues as they embrace the selection, value, quality and convenience of our proposition.”

Cazoo has acquired SMH for approximately £70m.

Tim Hudson, CEO at SMH Fleet Solutions, added: “We’re delighted to be joining forces with Alex and the team at Cazoo and see this as a perfect fit for SMH. We have built one of the leading teams in vehicle preparation and logistics in the UK and are very well placed to support the remarkable pace of growth at Cazoo and help it deliver on its mission of providing the best car buying and selling experience in the UK.”