A BOOM in the UK retail market has driven Cazoo's quarterly revenue to £347m, 103 per cent up on last year's levels.

In the three months ended 30 September, UK retail unit sales went up 100 per cent to 18,889 vehicles sold despite inflationary pressures biting into consumer spending.

"This very strong performance shows that consumers continue to embrace our proposition and the shift to online car buying continues to accelerate," chief executive Alex Chesterman said yesterday.

Compared to the previous quarter, retail gross profit per unit increased by an additional £179, reaching £488.

"This improvement was a result of continued efficiency gains across buying, reconditioning and product and was achieved despite ongoing inflationary pressures," the chief executive added.

Nevertheless, it remained below last year's £801 while gross profit, currently at £10m, was £1m below 2021 levels.

Following the results, Cazoo said it was expecting to reach cash flow breakeven without the need for additional external funding.

"Our business realignment plan announced in June, together with our decision in September to withdraw from mainland Europe, has ensured that we have a plan to reach profitability without requiring further external funding," Chesterman commented. "Our strong growth and momentum in the third quarter and our continued focus on cash preservation gives us great confidence in our ability to become the largest and most profitable used car retailer in the UK."

Cazoo made the headlines over the summer when it announced plans to shut its EU operations - cutting 750 jobs - as it targeted a return to profit following a £243m half-year loss. Announced in June, the review hopes to deliver over £100m in net savings by the end of 2023.

(c) 2022 City A.M., source Newspaper